Life During Covid

China is well known for their contribution to the modern world. Gunpowder, the compass and even silk were all things that are used in the present day were concepts invented by the Chinese that have changed the progress of mankind. However, it was also the birthplace of one the most harmful diseases to plague mankind. The disease in which I’m referring is of course, Covid 19.

Better known as the Corona virus, this was a disease that had escaped from a laboratory facility in Wuhan, China. It spread from China to the in 2019 (hence the name, Covid 19). It eventually found its way to the states in 2020. Specifically, March 1, 2020 the Covid outbreak had severally became a game changer.

For starters, a good portion of the people who had caught Covid, had died from it. As of this writing, 293 million people have caught covid and 5.45 million of them had died from it. Which in fact be about 2%. The people who had died from it were people who already had preexisting conditions like incomparable immune systems, old age or even people who are (or were depending on how you look at it) were all examples of people who had perished due to covid. In a way, many people compared the Covid 19 virus to a form of Natural Selection.

Even though many people didn’t have these conditions, many of them who were once seen as social and outgoing, became reclusive and hesitant to venture the outside world overall. Save for the exception of gathering goods. Even then many people had relied on apps like Instacart, Grubhub and even Doordash to get their needs.

For the people who choose (or had to) venture the world, were mandated to wear facemasks. Many people didn’t for the reasons of religious beliefs, people with certain health issues or those of a younger age (or at least were the reasons that they provided to the public).

This pandemic also led to things that were once done in person, became more virtual. This was done by means of Zoom, FaceTime and even Discord. Due to the fact that things could only be done virtually and that more people were hesitant to leave their abode, many streaming services had become more popular. Services like Disney Plus, HBO Max and Paramount Plus had all made their debut during the global pandemic. This in turn led to many shows on these streaming services to become more mainstream than that of cable. Shows like: The Mandalorian, Squid Game and Tiger King have become popular during this current time period.

On December 11, 2020, a vaccine had become available to the public. Of which there had to be a pecking order for that as well. Emergency workers and people over a certain age got their vaccines first, followed by people who worked in retail and so on and so forth. Of course, many people in fact chose not to get a vaccine at all. Due to the fact that they either had religious beliefs, were already exposed to Covid or didn’t know all the long term side effects thereof.

Because of this reason, the Covid virus has mutated to the point were we seem to be on a roller coaster of what we can or can not do as a country. These mutations became the alpha variant, the delta variant and the omicron variant. The latter of which made it’s debut in Anime NYC in November 2021. Of which, I find funny. Not the fact that it has another variant, but the fact in how people pronounce it. I’ve heard “omnicron”, “onicron” and even “omicorn” for the latest covid variant. The easiest way to pronounce is to watch Futurama. A character (of one Lrrr by name) introduces himself as the ruler of Omicron Persei 8.

Back on point, the biggest outcome of this was all the limitations that were put on social activities. Things like concerts, trips in foreign countries and even conventions had to be cancelled due to the restrictions that were.

The times they are a changing and not necessarily for the better. That being said, I think we should use this time to be considerate of the feelings of others as we would expect them of us and to help reduce the spread of this disease as much as we possibly can. By doing things like limiting our social activity, wearing a facemask and maintaining social distancing, I know we can get through this together. To those of who choose not to do this, I have a quote from the late Leonard Nimoy I would like to share with you: “The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few. Or in this case the one.” When he said that, he had intended to sacrifice himself in the famous Star Trek episode, Wrath of Khan. Though I do believe that this applies to the concept of doing things to help meet the needs of others, rather than yourself. If we can do this, I know that we can get through this pandemic together with a brighter future for all.