July 20, 2020
Promising
Wow, I saw reports about 3 different vaccines in development with promising results. One from the UK, one from China, and one from the University of Washington. Add that to the results of the vaccine trial reported last week and I am starting to have hope that a vaccine will be coming. Granted, they are all still in early phases. It may be a year to get a significant number of people vaccinated, but their ability to get an immune response is encouraging. A small light is emerging.
I am sure some of you heard about the article in the San Francisco Chronicle that took a pessimistic view of immunity developing towards COVID-19. There are reasons to be skeptical of dramatic findings like these. It is important to read all of these articles closely and critically. Derek Thompson in The Atlantic wrote the calm response about the concerns that I was looking for. We still don’t know about long term immunity and if it is common for people to get re-infected. Scientists and epidemiologists worldwide are looking for data and answers. They have found other promising data though, including the evidence that people infected with SARS (the original novel coronavirus epidemics in 2003) maintain their immunity, even 17 years later, and may even have some protection against SARS-Cov-2, which causes COVID-19.
We all need to hang in there and keep ourselves safe so we can come out the other side, kinder and more alive. I have read two intriguing articles in the past few days about documenting your pandemic and keeping track of it. Museums and historians will be interested, as will your great-grandchildren. Become a field collector, document your art, take photos of your gardens, your masks, or your sourdough. Keep track of your feelings and your problem solving. Note the kindness that you see everyday and the loving yard signs. Not all of what we are experiencing is anger, grief, and fear. There really, truly is so much love and beauty. Document that. We mustn’t forget.
Wash your hands, cover your nose, keep safe six, and love the world with all your heart.
And finally, my caveat is that this is my experience and my opinions, which are subject to change as more information is available, and not related to the organization I work for. Thanks for reading.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/style/museums-coronavirus-protests-2020.html
https://www.jwatch.org/fw116853/2020/07/20/two-more-covid-19-candidate-vaccines-show-promise
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/uw-coronavirus-vaccine-shows-strong-immune-response-in-monkeys-mice/
https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/With-coronavirus-antibodies-fading-fast-focus-15414533.php
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/could-covid-19-immunity-really-disappear-months/614377/
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/telling-your-pandemic-story-for-those-50-100-years-from-now/