Is It Possible ?

So here we are in the midst of another “surge.” This time due to the Omicron variant. As most of us are aware this variant most likely started in South Africa and from the beginning was deemed both more transmissible and less serious than prior variants.

Before going any further, let’s first hit ‘rewind,’ and look in general at past epidemics … those before the age of vaccines. Realistically back then it was quite simple. Either you were exposed to the culprit or you weren’t. If you weren’t exposed, you did not get sick, but at the same time remained vulnerable to that same culprit from then on.

If you were one of the unfortunate ones who were exposed to the culprit, basically you got sick (back then the concept of an asymptomatic infection was still in the future), and either lived or died. The culprit picked off the most vulnerable first, and continued to wreak havoc until basically the epidemic ran its course. Later we learned that the body’s defenses, mainly antibodies, B cells, and T cells were responsible for why some infected individuals had survived. Also these recovered individuals proved to be immune to subsequent infection with that same culprit.

Is it possible that the present Covid pandemic will turn out to have a similar course? Certainly in the beginning this pandemic, in general, killed the most vulnerable … the elderly, the sick, and the obese. Then came the miracle vaccines. However as many months went by, it became apparent that these vaccines were merely a way to flatten the curve, meaning that they did not prevent future infection with this virus forever, but merely delayed one’s susceptibility to what are now called breakthrough infections, which for the most part were less severe, especially for the vaccinated. In response to these breakthrough infections, next came the boosters(B), and now individuals are “breaking through” the boosters. Hypothetically will the next step be boosters for the boosters (B2), and will subsequent breakthroughs to B2 lead to B3? A purposely unanswerable question! Nonetheless what is happening now with this omicron variant is that more and more individuals are getting infected, and thus developing their own acquired immunity. Is it possible that this variant will actually provide the potential exit door to this pandemic?

Is it possible that getting the less severe Omicron version could be a good thing?

I was double-vaxxed and boosted … and got Covid anyway. Now while well on the road to recovery, I am becoming more convinced that my recent infection will turn out to be a good thing for me.

1/10/22