We Together Are Not Powerless Against COVID; Let’s Enter 2022 Stronger & More Resilient Than We Leave 2021
It can be easy to feel anxious and overwhelmed as the Omicron variant continues to spread rapidly through our communities. Here’s a roundup of what some of our CEID Faculty had to say as we approach winter holidays, a new year, and another phase of the COVID-19 pandemic:
“This is usually a season where people are gathered together indoors … many of us are going to be around other people that we haven’t seen, people who have traveled, so the risk of infection is higher. The good thing is that the things that have protected us against other variants are likely going to continue to protect us against this variant and that includes the vaccines … masking in indoor settings outside of the household, good ventilation, and testing and making sure that you know your status before and potentially even after you’ve visited and had holiday celebrations with others.”- Dr. Cassandra Pierre told NBC Boston
“If we all make our holidays a little bit safer, our actions could add up to something big.” –Dr. Ellie Murray told Vox
“We’re not back to March 2020 but our actions matter just as much today as they did when the pandemic first started. As we head into another viral storm, our individual and collective actions will impact the trajectory of this pandemic along with good public health policy.” –Dr. Syra Madad tweeted
“I am grateful to the healthcare workers at all levels and others across society who have continued to work as hard as possible despite these unnecessary risks being added to their daily lives. These burdens, burnouts, and resignations need not be happening and everybody – that means everybody – will be affected if it continues. If there is one lesson we need to learn and bring full force into 2022 it is this, that we must act sensibly and with compassion for one another, for all of us in this country and around the world, to end this terrible pandemic as soon as possible.” – Dr. Gerald Keusch told us
The Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Policy & Research (CEID) was founded earlier this year to strengthen societal resilience against the threat of emerging and epidemic infectious disease worldwide. It’s no surprise, then, that a common thread in all of these reflections is the collective “us” and “we.” During this challenging time, it’s important to remember that we as a community are not powerless over COVID-19. Let’s use the holiday season not as a discouraging reminder about another COVID winter, but instead, as a renewal of energy for what we want to accomplish in the new year. We have many tools in our toolbox: vaccines, boosters, masks, testing, public policy. Let’s continue to use these tools–and take actions to make our current systems more equitable and inclusive–so that we enter 2022 stronger and more resilient than we leave 2021.