The Harsh Reality of COVID-19

As a Sr. Medical Writer at UCLA Health and a YA Fiction author, I have the luxury of dabbling between both worlds of make-believe and reality as it pertains to writing. However, much of the world is having a hard time facing the hard truth about COVID-19.

During my weekly content meeting this past Monday with my other medical writing team colleagues, we had the privilege of talking with Dr. Otto Yang, MD, a very reputable infectious disease expert at UCLA. Dr. Yang shared some non-sugar-coated facts with us as we were permitted to ask questions about the future of our world. Here are a few of my reality-checks that I took away from our hour-long meeting with Dr. Yang:

We have to prioritize our own health and immunity

We learned that the new Delta Variant could be transferred to and from vaccinated and unvaccinated people. However, those who are vaccinated have a far less chance of being hospitalized or dying.

Albeit, whether you are pro-vaccination or anti-vaccination, you should be prioritizing your health by doing everything you can to keep your immune system healthy. Data can show us a lot about COVID-19, but the eye test shows that all professional athletes who have contracted COVID have recovered. Some would probably admit they did not recover fully, but they recovered enough to continue competition. Most importantly, none of them died. This fact doesn't mean you have to be a professional athlete to survive COVID, but training your body daily like many athletes can strengthen your immune system.

Ways to improve your health

• Change your diet (increase vegetable and fruit intake)

• Increase or add exercise to your daily routine

• Take vitamins/ immunity boosters

Changing your diet, increasing or adding exercise, and taking vitamins and/or immunity boosters are the three best actions anyone can commit to. Regardless of which side of the coin you stand on, it is not the time to play with your health. COVID-19 has killed some people with strong immune systems. Still, in large, those with more vital immune systems can fair better against the virus than those with compromised immune systems.

Dr. Yang predicted that we're moving to a point where health and government officials are just going to accept the fact that there will be a large number of deaths per year. We see the evidence of this as states such as Texas and Florida do away with mask mandates. Their governors have even threatened to punish officials who try to enforce masks. It's wise to assume that many other states will follow this format. Thus, proving why it is more important to make sure you and your loved ones are putting your health first.

Vaccinations do work, but...

Here in Los Angeles, we saw the number of COVID-19 cases drop as large numbers of people hurried into health care facilities to get vaccinated. California reopened as a state, and things seemed to be going pretty well. Hundreds of thousands got vaccinated, and there appeared to be a significant slow in the spread of the virus.

Yet, the virus developed an immunity of its own. Amongst the community of those who were not vaccinated, a new variant formed, showing us that this virus replicates and transmits quickly and mutates. Now, vaccinated people will look to receive booster shots when they become available. The hopes are that the booster shots will help combat the Delta variant.

While many skeptics have yet to get vaccinated, another vast demographic of people fighting for their lives on hospital beds, regret not getting the vaccine. Doctors across the nation are giving accounts of extremely ill patients who are asking for the vaccine way too late.

As a man of color, I understand the skepticism that stems from my community. The Tuskegee experiments have had generational mental and physiological effects on African-Americans for decades, causing significant distrust between us and the public health system. My reasons for getting vaccinated were more about protecting the people around me and because I spend a lot of time in a hospital setting.

If you are on the fence about getting vaccinated, make sure you consult your primary physician and ask questions. Conspiracy theories about vaccines often cause misinformation and fear. When you learn more about the vaccine and its contents, you can make a better decision out of understanding instead of anxiety.

Make wise decisions

This past week Lollapalooza brought out approximately 200,000 people to Chicago, many of which who were unmasked. I don't want to speak death or negativity on any group of people or events. Still, there will most likely be COVID cases that derive from this event.

Dr. Yang is very doubtful that the United States will ever reach herd immunity with COVID-19. A major reason behind that notion is that we lack discipline. Gathering in large crowds such as concerts, sporting events, and clubs is not wise, especially if you haven't been vaccinated. It's not safe for those who are vaccinated or unvaccinated.

I know we want to continue living life the way we did before the pandemic, but times have changed that. Being cooped up in our homes for over a year has made many of us fly out of our homes with no regard once we thought it was safe. We still have to be more responsible because everybody's life and health are at stake.

To find an example of how explosively contagious this virus is, you don't have to look any further than a CDC report that was published about Polk County, Florida. The report highlights how one individual, who attended a two-day wrestling tournament twice over the span of one week, jeopardized an entire school district and caused several COVID outbreaks in multiple schools.

Unfortunately, many people in our world will not take this virus seriously until it either touches them directly or someone that they love. To prevent further cases and death, we must decide collectively to make better choices as a nation and world regarding our health.

Conclusively, the best way to fight COVID-19 is by combining healthy living with vaccinations. For those who choose not to vaccinate, it's imperative that you follow a healthy lifestyle and make sound decisions for your well-being and others around you, as your health will be compromised if you should ever contract the virus. We are truly living in a time where tomorrow is not promised.