Another Winter of Discontent

And so it goes.

Another winter is here; a situation which, in the Northern Plains, is not a thing to trifle with. This year has been relatively mild so fair—a few cold snaps—and not even enough snow for snowshoeing.

The sense of isolation that has come with curtailing most public activities due to the Covid pandemic reminds me of those early settlers on the prairie who would often be home-bound for weeks at a time in the winter. Of course, many people have just given up on preventive measures—rugged individuals who think they know what’s best for them, including a fair amount of people whose work requires them to deal with the public. More police officers died last year from Covid than from any other cause, yet some of their unions oppose vaccinations. The amount of ignorance and hostility to medical science in these no-so United States is astounding. The population of the county where I live is a little less than the number of people living in Iceland, yet it has had almost 20 times the number of deaths. Our hospitals are full of non-vaccinated Covid patients, a bad situation made worse by short-staffing of health care workers who have become too ill to work. Fortunately the vast majority of them are vaccinated so do not require hospitalization.

One positive thing that I have read about: to reduce the severity of a Covid infection (besides getting vaccinated) is to make sure your Vitamin D3 levels are not depleted. This won’t necessarily prevent a full-blown infection but, for a few cents a day, you can prevent a D3 deficiency. It is cheap insurance.

This wave should be over soon but for the families of those who paid the ultimate price that is a moot point.