People must keep up fight to defeat COVID
A year ago today, Montgomery County reported its first case of COVID-19, marking the start of the coronavirus pandemic in our community. Little did any of us realize what was to follow.
Over the next few days and weeks, cases were reported all over this area and the rest of the state. As the situation worsened, stringent mitigation measures were put in place with the assumption that they would only be required for a few weeks. Everyone knows what happened. Strict restrictions on business and interpersonal activities were in place throughout the spring, and even today we’re living under rules that would have been unthinkable a year ago. The coronavirus is still with us.
We are fortunate that for all the difficulties we’ve faced in Pennsylvania, we did not have to endure the horrifying scenes that played out in places like New York and Italy.
Nevertheless, it’s been an incredibly difficult year for all of us in so many ways. This awful disease has taken away so many of our friends, neighbors and relatives and kept people from being together in the times when they needed it most. Many who survived COVID-19 have had to deal with serious, lasting impact on their health.
Those of us who didn’t have to deal with COVID-19 directly felt the impact as well. So many have had to endure terrible loneliness for these many months, avoiding contact with others — even close relatives — out of caution. Graduations, weddings, holiday celebrations and other moments we cherish in life had to be reconfigured or not happen at all.
Restrictions on business activity put many millions out of work, making it difficult to provide food and housing for their families. Lines at food banks were reminiscent of the Great Depression.
Our school system was upended as educators scrambled to provide lessons remotely in an effective manner. Businesses also had to find a new way to do things. Working parents faced some of the toughest challenges, trying to work from home while simultaneously helping their children learn remotely.
There’s much more, of course. Every aspect of life has been affected by the pandemic. But we’ve endured these tough times thanks to the health care workers who rose to this tremendous challenge along with the many others who kept working in essential jobs despite significant risks.
And despite all the arguing over masks and other safety measures, people in our area have by and large complied with the rules and recommendations put in place by health authorities. It has certainly helped.
Recent good news should alleviate much of the despair so many of us have been feeling for so long. New cases and deaths are at a much slower rate than they were at the worst of the pandemic. Warmer weather is on the way, which makes it easier for people to get together safely. And most significantly, the supply of vaccines is expected to increase substantially soon.
For vaccines to deliver on their considerable promise, the state and its federal government and private partners must do a much better job of getting them to the people who so desperately want them. That means many more opportunities for appointments and improvements to the systems people use to get them. The difficulties people are facing in this regard are absolutely unacceptable.
At some point, hopefully soon, the issue will switch from meeting vaccine demand to persuading skeptics that they should get immunized.
We urge readers to take advantage of the opportunity to get the vaccine when it arises and to continue exercising caution until health authorities say it’s no longer necessary.
There are still hundreds of thousands of new cases and thousands more COVID-19 deaths being reported each week in America. Fast-spreading virus variants make another surge in cases a distinct possibility.
We all want this to be over with, but a premature declaration of victory could wind up extending the crisis. And that’s the last thing any of us want.
We’ve made it this far, and the finish line is in sight. Let’s keep rising to the challenge.