Is Life Getting Back to Normal?
Does anyone actually remember what life was like just over 2 years ago before the specter of the COVID-19 pandemic loomed over everything? To me, it feels like a distant memory, like a dream I can’t quite describe because it’s surrounded by a hazy fog.
On the other hand, though trying to remember pre-pandemic life is like trying to remember a dream, day to day life has also felt like a Groundhog Day nightmare where it seems like time is frozen and different obstacles keep popping up just when you think you’re getting to reach your goal. All these cycles of variants and the ever-changing masking and quarantine and isolation rules, having to balance overwhelming demands for COVID-19 testing while still trying to take care of my patients seeking care for “normal medical needs,” trying to get cleaning supplies and medical supplies when there are shortages, and hearing about families losing loved ones or losing insurance coverage because they lost their jobs because businesses went under … I’m just tired of it all, as I’m sure everyone else is.
When the Omicron variant emerged this past winter, though, I feel like the tides unexpectedly changed. Things seemed to start off worse, with cases spreading like wildfire! But it turns out that the variant infected and reinfected so much of the country with a generally less deadly disease presentation that along with immunity from vaccines, many areas now attained the ever elusive “herd immunity” that had been discussed so much since this whole thing started. The CDC now has designated community levels to determine how to careful we have to be when around others to in response to COVID-19. What determines a “low” community level? It’s based on a weekly average per 100,000 people in that county of fewer than 200 newly diagnosed COVID-19 cases, fewer than 10 COVID-19 admissions, and less than 10% of total occupied inpatient beds being taken by COVID-19 positive patients.
Bexar County is one of the lucky counties that right now is rated at this level. Due to these sustained low numbers meaning that most illnesses are back to being non-COVID illnesses (at least for now), with the exception of those with a known recent COVID exposure or positive COVID test, Cevey Pediatrics is finally bringing even sick patients inside again for the first time in 2 years! However, as a pediatric office who takes care of children who still haven’t gotten the opportunity to be COVID-vaccinated, and a location where patients specifically go to when they’re sick, the degree of rule relaxation that applies to other indoor businesses still can’t fully apply. Masks are still required for those ages 3 years and older, and we still prefer that families call when they arrive so that we can minimize time spent in the waiting room. We ask that parents help us enforce these measures by maintaining a positive attitude about masking so that we can continue to keep the office a safe place for all. Baby steps, though, will hopefully lead to bigger and bigger changes that eventually will get to where we no longer have to make accommodations specifically to take COVID into consideration. I can definitely say that my family is excited that after two years I’ve finally somewhat relaxed the Nazi-level restrictions I’ve held them to -- I’m even letting my daughter go to prom later this month (versus not letting her go to homecoming last fall)! The one bad thing about lower community COVID-19 levels is that my awesome new nurse, Kataya, who was counting on being able to finish her RN online, will have to go back to in-person learning for a few months and will have to be part-time here at the office, but that’s just a temporary challenge for a greater good, and we’ve already found an enthusiastic MA to pinch hit for those months.
I can definitely see that medical care itself has overall positively evolved due to COVID-19 considerations. Getting to share the cool murals that were custom painted for each room, though, is something I would love to get back to, and I know that there are some kids who have missed getting to visit with Princess Gingersnap when they come to their doctor’s visits! As long as we hopefully don’t see a significantly new variant appear that evades our herd immunity, maybe this means that one day soon, we can consider this pandemic over?
