COVID-19 Communique: The death of a nurse
It was with an enormous sense of distress that we received notification of the death from COVID-19
of a vaccinated frontline nurse in Melbourne.
The battles against COVID-19 continue to be addressed on several fronts and the never ending changes to advice and regulations continue – and so they should - in response to new challenges and better understanding of what it takes to hit the sweet spot of protection for individuals and communities while recognizing the yearning for freedom of movement and behaviour.
The death of a young and apparently healthy nurse demonstrates some salient points. Presumably the nurse was wearing PPE while working night shifts in an emergency department and the hospital had in place all the protections, but it is hard to beat the highly transmissible coronavirus. This will all be looked into I’m sure.
Nobody can be fully safe from the virus, unless you go and live in a cave, not even the vaccinated, although they usually don’t become seriously unwell. Vaccinations including boosters offer a protection that might be sufficient to allow a partial return to normal life, but it looks like living will never again be like it was.
Still, past generations had plenty to worry about, with infectious diseases that had no prevention or treatment. We will need to be aware of these risks well into the future, and how to best address them, and that will be a moving feast.
We have been able to vaccinate Australians to levels exceeding that of most nations, and can stand proud of this, after a shaky start. It was done at the cost of lengthy lockdowns, with damaged businesses, economies and people, and restrictions upon our freedoms, that some idiots fought vociferously against, and still do.
The vulnerable - the aged, the ill, the unvaccinated - will be hard to protect. We have lost over 2000 lives in Australia, but the death of this nurse seems more poignant.
Yarrawonga is in an enviable position with greater than 95% of eligible people vaccinated, leaving us with only a few yet to get it done, and of course there will be visitors to the towns, coming soon in great numbers we hope. They will need to show their vaccine certificate if they want to do anything other than fishing.
We all need to behave. Booster doses are available now, six months after the second shot. Third primary doses for the highly vulnerable, 2-6 months after the second shot. Primary vaccination with first and second doses for late comers. Children aged 5-11? No one knows what to do with them, or when, but I’m pretty sure that I’ll be on holidays. Of concern is that about half of the parents don’t want it to happen.
Yarrawonga parents may hold a different view after our recent scare. It could all change within a news cycle.
The reason that I haven’t addressed the Omicron variant emergence is because we don’t know much about it yet, although that hasn’t stopped plenty of pundits from offering opinions, and stock markets flip flopping and the shredding of share value, leaving some retirees apoplectic. We know it to be highly transmissible. We have no evidence that it is any more virulent. We do not know that our vaccines are any less effective.
The mRNA vaccines can be reconfigured to custom fit new viral variants. Fear is driving publicly expressed pessimism.
Relax, Christmas is coming, and next year will be a better one. Trust me.