We are approaching the end of the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic which struck the United States and the world in March 2020. Being in my early seventies, and suffering from an asthma- compromised respiratory system, a positive Covid-19 test for me during the pandemic carried with it an extra heavy weight. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], less than 15% of all reported cases in the US have been among people 65 and older although approximately half of all hospitalizations, and 75% of all deaths have been in this age group. Hospitalization rate for seniors reached a record high last winter during the Omicron variant surge and then dropped significantly over the summer months. But compared with other age groups, hospitalization rates have consistently been higher among the 65 and older population.
My wife and I considered ourselves quite fortunate that we were able to stay healthy throughout the height of the coronavirus pandemic, a time when countless thousands were struck down, and many of whom ended up on ventilators in overworked hospitals. And many of these victims died, their bodies warehoused in makeshift morgues. We stayed closely quarantined at home during the earliest months, not leaving our house for weeks on end. In 2020, and again in 2021, we chose not to make our annual summer-long escapes to the lake cottage in Maine, believing it was not wise to travel or to be far from our medical support. Life as we knew it had changed and we wondered whether we would ever be able to return to some degree of normalcy.
For a time this past summer it appeared to many, at least in the US, that life might be slowly returning to what it had been before as more and more Americans are fully vaccinated and boosted. Like many others, after several months of home quarantine and only venturing into crowds fully masked, my wife and I gradually began to let down our guard once we had received the full program of vaccinations and booster injections. We continued to wear masks when around crowds of people, but we were less cautious when interacting with friends and family who were also fully vaccinated and boosted. Dire warnings were still there, but our attention to them had begun to wane.
Over this past summer we finally began to travel and return to restaurants and other public venues which we had given a long arm’s distance during the early months of the pandemic. We were exposed to individuals who shortly after encountering them tested positive for the coronavirus. We immediately tested and the results remained negative. We had, thankfully, dodged the bullet.
With the onset of colder and damper weather, the coronavirus is once again on the rise across the country despite the fact that the population, in general, has an immunity wall built up against the Omicron variants. Immunizations, boosters, and prior infections seems to be keeping younger folks healthy. But the immune systems of people of advanced age are not as strong. A recent survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 60% of seniors were worried about a rise in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations this winter – a far larger share than average. Although the increase appears to be relatively mild and only a fraction of what it was during previous surges, older adults are still facing a far more serious situation similar to the peak from the Delta variant surge. According to one health expert, “anyone can get this, but the older you are, the more likely you are to have severe symptoms, the more likely you are to be hospitalized, and the more likely you are to die.”
This pandemic appears to be far from over as new variants are more immune-evasive and relatively low utilization of treatments like Paxlovid may have played a role in the rising hospitalization rate among seniors. The main culprit, however, is booster deficiency which indicates waning immunity. If more seniors had their boosters the effect would be minimal. The whole idea is to be proactive with all vaccines and boosters. Even if you got sick, there was every good chance you would not end up in the hospital. According to the CDC, only about a third of those over the age of 65 have updated immunization and boosters which is not very promising, if one is to be proactive.
During the latter half of December my good luck finally ran out and I weathered the inconvenience of a long siege of Covid, testing positive for well over a week with a stuffy head, a hacking cough, and a constantly running nose. I have no idea how or where I picked up the virus, but I was not over concerned. I know many who have dealt with Covid to one degree or another, and I figured that even if I was positive, knowing I was vaccinated and fully boosted reassured me that I would weather this siege. Then, a few days after I tested positive, my wife did too. Her case was relatively mild compared to mine, but we kept our distance with me sequestered in the downstairs den with the TV and my books, and SallyAnn remained in our upstairs bedroom and studio (also with a TV and all of her projects close at hand). We read and watched movies and we both completed the five-day Paxlovid cocktail and gradually saw improvement in our conditions. That said, this year’s Christmas celebration was a complete wash as plans to gather with family and friends were cancelled, or at least postponed, until everyone was healthy again.
And now we are both finally testing negative for a few days, and we have left the chilly and damp north behind us, traveling to warmer climes . . . a small casita in the vicinity of Micanopy, about a half hour south of Gainesville, Florida which has long been our base of operations during visits to the Sunshine State. Florida has always been a big part of my life having vacationed here for decades and having spent my undergraduate college years at Florida Southern College, if for no other reason that I was quickly growing tired of those tedious Midwestern winters. It was here I met my wife of 48 years, a native Florida gal. Many of us, including my younger self, think of Florida as a place of sun and fun, a place to escape to when life elsewhere in America has grown old and tiresome. Yet for the natives, Florida can become just as old and tiresome . . . just a place to be. “Florida is a transient state in which too many rootless people dare nothing for the past nor this state’s future.” write Floridian writer Randy Wayne White in his novel Ten Thousand Island (2000). “Florida is a vacation destination or a retirement place, as temporary as time spent in a bus station . . . Like a bus station, Florida attracts con men and predators. It always has, Florida always will.”
Over the past five decades we have made countless trips down Interstate 95 from Washington, DC to points in northern and central Florida. And it seems to me that Mr. White has captured the essence of what we have found. In contrast to my college days here, Florida has become a much redder state than it was in the past. Still, I try to look beyond this fact. There is still so much I love about this place . . . perhaps the edgiest edge of America there is. What better place to shake off the bug that bit us?
Perhaps this is not the best time to be traveling and we are taking extra precautions to minimize our contact with other people. We mask up when we are out in public areas and avoiding restaurants unless we can eat alfresco. The last thing we want is to weather another bout with the coronavirus. We were lucky the first time around. Maybe not so much should it strike again. Don’t bet your life on it. When in doubt, always mask up!!
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