COVID-19 (PART VI). Vaccines, Santa, and Holiday Wishes

Dr. Fauci reassured us on Sesame Street that he had trekked to the North Pole and vaccinated the old saint, Santa Claus. Santa is now good to go and will be traveling and delivering presents to children all over the world. 

So yes, Christmas is still on, and we finally got the excellent news that BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna's mRNA vaccines have around 95% efficacy in terms of protection against Covid. In addition, several other vaccines are being rolled out by other countries. With this extraordinary progress in just one year, there is finally hope and redemption from the Covid purgatory we have been mired in.

I know many front-line healthcare workers have now got the first vaccine shot. In Scotland, my sister-in-law also got her first shot after she and her colleagues staged a small "illegal" rebellion against the management hierarchy. But unfortunately, the vaccine came too late for a young nurse in their practice who just succumbed to Covid.  

Recently, two very good friends of ours just got Covid. They had been very careful, and they couldn't figure out how or where they got exposed. Luckily, both of them have pretty light symptoms and are recovering well. Anyway, for most of us, we still need to wait a while as the vaccination will be carried out in phases (for details, see the CDC guideline on COVID-19 vaccines). So, hang in tight and be even more diligent. We are facing another Covid surge at the moment, and in Southern California, ICU bed availability has dropped to 0% in the last few days!

So here I will do one more PSA, and hopefully, this is for the last time:

• Wear N95 masks when you have to go to public space. Wear glasses, goggles, or face shields for extra protection. Change out of your outer clothes and shower as soon as you get home.  
• Get a UV sterilizer to re-sterilize and re-use your mask, etc. (I do 20 minutes of sterilization on our UV sterilizer). Get a pulse oximeter just in case. I mentioned all these in Part III of this article series back in March.
• Celebrate the Christmas holiday but avoid gatherings for meals outside your own household. Sharing meals or food with those outside your own household has been a key driver for the spread of Covid. We are almost there. So be patient, and you can make up in double or triple for all the missed gatherings when vaccination builds up the herd immunity.  
• If you are those lucky ones who do get that precious 1st vaccine shot, please remember there is probably no protection in the first week or so; after that, you'll get partial protection. But full protection does not kick in until 10 - 14 days after the 2nd shot. 

Now that we get the above squared away, let's get back to Santa and the Christmas holiday. For us, the Christmas tree and lights are already up and are looking as good as in the past years, but we'll forego our usual Christmas day dinner with friends. For myself, my birthday happens to fall on Christmas Eve. Yes, it is tough to do birthday parties on Christmas Eve. We usually do a Christmas Eve/birthday dinner just ourselves, and we'll do the same this year. My dear wife has been asking me what I would wish for a birthday present. When she reminded me again today, I happened to be reading what Pope Francis just said: "Instead of complaining … about what the pandemic prevents us from doing, let us do something for someone who has less - not the umpteenth gift for ourselves ..., but for a person in need …" Hallelujah! I said to my wife, "how about we make a donation to help others instead of a birthday present for me this year?" We thought about it and decided to donate to "Hands of Grace" at our church - an interfaith collaboration to help the homeless and under-served in the local community. 

Dear friends, I know my words do not carry the same weight as the good Pope. But how about let's count our blessings and let's give a hand to those in need in this holiday season? Perhaps we can all be like Santa and bring some small help and joy to a stranger or two out there? With that said and a small favor asked, I wish all of you a safe, healthy, and happy holiday, and that 2021 will usher in hope, renewal, and new opportunities for all of us!

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