News of the Omicron variant is daunting. What should we do? How can we be safe from yet another COVID variant?
Respect people's needs
Families and friends will react in all kinds of ways with respect to this news about the Omicron variant. It is important to respect people's need to be comfortable and safe.
Stay healthy and safe
Do what you can to keep yourself safe. I have chosen to follow the recommendations of medical/science experts by doing the following:
- getting vaccinated and boosted
- getting the flu shot
- masking up in crowded public places
- avoiding places where people are not vaccinated/boosted
- encouraging family members to get vaccinated and boosted
Find ways to safely socialize
To avoid socializing altogether doesn't work for most of us. For me, I've chosen to attend a few small social events where vaccination/boosting is required. So far, I've not contracted the virus with this behavior. I'm also keeping some distance from people at these events and avoiding lots of kissing and hugging at these events too. If possible, we're opening windows and planning outdoor events too to create more safety. It takes a bit more creativity and preparation to safely socialize, but hopefully these extra precautions will allow us to spend good time with loved ones.
Stay informed
Our family is staying up to date with the news related to health and safety. We're taking reports from well-educated, experienced medical/science professionals seriously and applying their recommendations to our lifeways. We know that information changes regularly so we stay on top of it.
See this with a broad perspective
There will always be challenges in life. It is amazing to see how many people in the world are working together to keep people safe throughout this disaster and others. The good we do during this pandemic will be good we apply to the next disaster we face. So with a broad perspective, there's a lot to be thankful for including awesome scientists/medical professionals, good humane public leaders, caring family members and awesome collaboration of so many. Yes, there are some who are making this chapter of life more difficult, but I choose to turn from them as I heed the advice and follow the modeling of those humane, bright, good leaders and people that exist.