Cold and Flu Season
Cold and flu season — hah! That’s what we called it. Now it’s more like pandemic time. In the past, at least here in the Midwest, when it was late fall, early winter, we’d get our flu shots. We’d stock up on Theraflu and have plenty of ibuprofen, pseudoephedrine, and aspirin. Those were the days.
Cold and flu season became cold and death season. It started with COVID — 19. When the vaccines became available in the second quarter of 2021, we thought we were over the hump. Little did we know.
COVID — 19 mutated. The vaccines were no longer effective against the COVID. I called it COVID — 20, but it was more like COVID 20, 21, 22, and more. The virus had mutated along many paths.
Next came the flu. Most Americans didn’t know how deadly the flu could be. For example, in 2018, more than 80,000 Americans died from the flu. It was worse this year.
And it wasn’t only COVID and the flu. It was the perfect storm. Clinicians had warned us for years that bacterial strains were becoming resistant to antibiotics. Streptococcus pneumonia was one of them. So, when a patient developed Streptococcus pneumonia after contracting COVID or the flu, antibiotics no longer worked. There wasn’t a lot that healthcare people could do.
Hospital beds were full. Municipalities set up beds in arenas, old malls, and abandoned factories. But the bigger problem was that there weren’t enough doctors and nurses. The sickness had taken its toll on healthcare professionals. Many who survived decided it was time to worry about their families first, so they quit.
People cared for their sick at home. Often there wasn’t an alternative. It wasn’t unusual for the flu and COVID to wipe out an entire family.
It was the same thing with schools. There weren’t enough teachers. The uninformed might think that since all schools were 100% virtual, it would be easier. It wasn’t. It was harder. Much harder than working with students face-to-face.
Virtual classes had become prerecorded lectures the kids watched. Theoretically, they could ask a question in a side chat. But that didn’t work when there was no one on the other end to answer the question.
A massive increase in homelessness escalated the situation. Thousands of people had been evicted. Disease ran rampant in homeless camps in all major American cities.
The stock market crashed to a modern low. It was below 15,000. My 401K went from more than $500,000 to less than $200,000. We no longer drew a monthly stipend.
I’m not complaining, only stating a fact. My wife and I are two of the lucky ones. We’re retired, the house is paid for, and if social security keeps coming, we’ll be okay.
We miss being able to travel, which is what we thought we’d do in our retirement. It may sound petty, but I miss eggs. My wife misses milk most of all. Thank goodness I can still get vodka!
Much has changed since COVID reared its ugly head in 2020. I can only hope the next year will be better than this one. It’s hard to believe that so much change has happened in so short of a time. I remember praying for 2020 to be over. Surely, things would get better. Now, I look back and wish for a return to 2020. Here’s to a better 2025. Happy New Year!
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I was thinking about how many of us, including me, wished for 2020 to be over. We were sure things would be better next year. But what if they’re not?