COVID-19: What's your hot take?

COVID-19 is a huge bummer. I know we are all wanting it to be over, but it really isn't. And wishful thinking does nothing to keep us safe- only taking actions to prevent the spread will do that.

COVID is the third leading cause of the death in the US, after heart disease and cancer.
We have the same rates of hospitalizations and infections now that we did at the height of the pandemic shutdowns. While many have been led to believe that COVID-19 is over- the statistics to not show that to be true. You would think this would be more well-known.

But there is a disinformation campaign happening by governments and media. I know, it sounds like a conspiracy, but they keep pushing us back to work (in person), have stopped tallying the stats of infections and deaths, and no longer financially support us staying home. They are not funding tests and masks and vaccines anymore. They are more focused on corporate profits than public health- and frankly, it sickens me.

Here is what I am currently doing in February 2024 to deal with COVID, personally and professionally:

1. While I prefer in-person consultations (to allow for better assessment tools like looking at skin, eyes, and tongue) and classes, I need them to be as safe as possible, I encourage ill people to reach out via Zoom or phone and I am but she is staying masked with an N95 or better the entire time I teach or meet with clients. In fact, I mask EVERY TIME I am indoors with others outside my home. I have never stopped.

2. I know that masking with surgical or cloth masks is not effective. N95s or P100 masks are the best, and if you are in a mostly unmasked environment (like most places nowadays), you must change it every 5 hours.

3. I do not engage in risky behaviors. This includes eating and drinking indoors in public, attending large gatherings, and getting close to others outside my bubble.

4. I am vaccinated. I got the mRNA vaccines, first Moderna, then Pfizer. If you have not gotten the most recent one available in 2024, it's like you are unvaccinated. The virus has mutated enough that the old vaccines do not protect you.

Again: The US government has stopped recording infections and deaths, and is no longer funding testing sites, test kits, or vaccinations. That does not mean infections, spread, mutations, and deaths are not still happening, even in alarming numbers. It simply means economic issues took priority over public health issues. The only way to know how prevalent COVID-19 is in your community is to look at the wastewater statistics- and see how much virus is shed into sewage. And it's a lot here in north central WV.

You should also know that Lily believes in using ALL the available tools to stop this pandemic possible. She is an herbalist who looks to science as well as generational wisdom. To that end, she has done extensive research on the virus, its mutations, safety measures, treatments, and preventions. She has created webinars about these issues, presented in March 2022and again for Cancer Support Community in January of 2023. She'll update again in 2024.