This is the ninth and final installment in a series of reflections while I've been at home during the COVID-19 pandemic
Hello to readers from around the world. Greetings and well wishes from Toronto, Canada. I haven't written any COVID reflections since November of 2020. So, it's time for an update. First of all, I have not contracted the virus, for which I am most thankful, I am also fortunate enough to have received both doses of the vaccine at a local pharmacy. Both were AstraZeneca. I can also report that I did not experience any reaction from either dose, not even a sore arm.
I was given my second does on June 4, 2021. Two weeks later, I began taking public transportation again. This this past week I dined at an outdoor patio. Here in Canada, we took far too long to get our vaccine rollout started, but now it's really moving fast. It's sad that we did not produce our own vaccine when this pandemic began. We should never be caught off guard again. Indeed, the whole world should have been better prepared for this pandemic. It also didn't help that Donald Trump was president of the United States when the COVID crisis began. He failed to inform the American people of the imminent danger. It also did not help that he and his followers resisted wearing masks and saw it as a sign of weakness. To them, wearing a mass represented a loss of freedom, even though it meant protecting themselves and others. Unfortunately, the vaccine program in the United States did not get rolling in the U.S.until Joe Biden took office. So many more lives could have been saved.
Here in the province of Ontario, we are slowly emerging from our lockdown in three phases. Ontarians begin phase 2 on Wednesday, June 30, 2021. We remain cautious because the highly contagious Delta variant is still in the picture. We are not out of the woods yet, but I am cautiously optimistic that we won't have to endure a fourth wave. Yesterday, a record number of people were vaccinated at the Scotia Bank Arena, home of Toronto's professional hockey and baseball teams.
Even though this pandemic has ben long and difficult for me and everyone else, we are fortunate compared to many places in the world. That is why we have to get the whole world vaccinated. My thoughts are with the people of India and Africa who have suffered greatly.
Take care and stay safe. If you haven't had the vaccine yet and are unsure whether you should, I urge you to get that little jab in your arm.
- Joanne
