COVID-19 no longer makes headlines because it has gone from epidemic (sudden, rapid, widespread) to endemic (around us all the time).
COVID no longer makes the headlines. Few people wear masks in large gatherings or crowded airport terminals. Social distancing is a thing of the past.
People are tired of social restrictions, so vacation destinations are more crowded than ever before.
The discomfort of wearing a mask is immediate, whereas the threat of catching COVID is just one of many risks in life.
Vaccines offer some protection against COVID, but the decision to get vaccinated or not has become a political decision, not a medical decision.
The result is that public health measures are ignored, and vaccination rates are dropping, while serious COVID infections are increasing.
In Colorado, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, COVID infections leading to hospitalization or to death have risen steadily over the last three months.
It is easy to ignore this information. It is old news, and there are plenty of more compelling issues we have to deal with. But COVID has not gone away.
In Estes Park, we are at greater risk than elsewhere in Colorado, or in the nation:
- The year-round and part-time residents of Estes Park are older, and tend to have other medical problems, putting us at greater risk of severe infections.
- Thousands of visitors to Estes Park bring infections from their homes to ours.
- We host large gatherings, such as the Longs Peak Scottish-Irish Highland Festival and the Autumn Gold Festival, which increases the risk of virus transmission.
- We want to appear friendly and welcoming to visitors. Wearing a mask and standing six feet away does not make us look friendly or welcoming.
The virus that causes COVID has an extraordinary ability to mutate or change its character over time. Some variants are more deadly than others; some are more infective than others. There is no way to know what the next variant will look like. It could be both more deadly and more infective. Serious COVID infections are already on the rise.
If we want to protect those we care about, and ourselves, we must take the threat of COVID more seriously than we have been. And that means understanding that COVID is a medical issue, not a political one.
Estes Park Health is taking appointments for flu and COVID vaccines, with available dates over the next two months.
The vaccine clinics are slated on Thursdays beginning Sept. 19 through Oct. 10, from 8 a.m. to noon and from 12:30 p.m. to 4:20 p.m.
Terry Rustin is a physician, board-certified in internal medicine and certified in addiction medicine. He graduated from medical school in 1974 and completed his residency in 1977. He is a recognized expert in behavioral medicine and addiction psychiatry.
Expert in “Internal Medicine Psychiatry and Behavioral/ Addictions.”
Important speciality- but no speciality in Epidemiology? Infectious Disease?
What about the FDA warning going to COVID vaxx?
The Pfizer two month Clinical Trial?
Did Dr. Rustin read them when they were first published?
Before he wrote this OP Ed?
COVID was made political- because COVID was a cash cow.
Yes COVID was a terrible disease for elders and the vulnerable.
This time around- make sure
your physicians do their research Estes @ Estes Valley parents and residents!
Do not blindly vaxx yourself or your children.
If someone tries to force you into vaxxing- ask for vaccine insert {don’t think it will be blank this time}.
How about someone start talking about alleged COVID mixing deaths per proxy?
There are many unanswered questions about the Covid vaccines. Development of a vaccine usually takes years, not months. Testing a new vaccine usually involves thousands of subjects over a year or more. Complications may not become apparent for years.
The vaccines against covid were fast-tracked because of the perceived danger, starting with the first appearance of the virus in 2019.
The data are inadequate. Important questions about the vaccines simply cannot be answered with scientific accuracy. Your skepticism is justified.
However, the danger of Covid is real. We do not know how many mild or moderate cases there are, but we do know that serious cases are on the rise.
In 1918, the only defenses against the influenza pandemic were public health measures. Viruses had not even been discovered in 1918. In many ways, our public health responses to Covid today are less effective than the responses were in 1918.
In the absence of rigorous public health measures (no large crowds, sick people voluntarily staying home, masks in public), vaccines represent our best defense against serious illness.