Face It, Covid-19 Is A Virus At The End Of The Day

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recent Covid-19 guidelines indicate how the scientific community has come to terms with the fact that the coronavirus is going nowhere. Or as they said in their recent briefing, “it is here to stay”.

Now this is a bit unsettling. Did we just lose our battle with a microscopic organism? Humanity did really put in significant effort in dealing with the menace; the 2020 global lockdown has to be one of the most unprecedented events in modern human history (perhaps even more gob smacking than the advent of the coronavirus itself), while the scientists busied in churning out vaccines with unrealistic expedience, there were those who declared garlic as the absolute cure (unable to differentiate between viruses and vampires), social media was bombarded with incantations, talismans, watermelons, lemons, third feather of the first born pigeon on a full moon night (flexing bit of imagination here) to take on the deadliest nano particle facing us. Not to forget the protests against the virus with unmasked, un-distanced crowds chanting “Go Corona Go”.

Thankfully we did have an edge in this fight, the garlic totem pole. Err! Not quite. The science, really. Science gave us the edge. Know thy enemy! So said a sage. The biggest battle against the virus was won when its mechanism of action was cracked. Eureka! We finally knew where and how to hit the virus hard. Road map to a vaccine seemed clearer.

In the meanwhile, the modes of transmission had also become a lot clearer. Masks, hand hygiene and distancing were established precautions. No! The virus was not transmitted by shoes and spraying sanitiser on clothes only destroyed the clothes not so much the virus.

The virus grew and so did the science around it. We became more confident in fighting off the nano-nuisance as our knowledge advanced. To cut the long story short, we came a long way in this man-versus-virus saga, riding on science.

The virus grew and so did the science around it. We became more confident in fighting off the nano-nuisance as our knowledge advanced. To cut the long story short, we came a long way in this man-versus-virus saga, riding on science.

So, when the people of science gather across board and tell us we should accept the existence of the virus, should we be worried?

For one thing, these new guidelines are rather strategically timed. With newer threats such as the monkey pox gradually taking the limelight, perhaps it is wise to re-evaluate the obsession with corona virus in order to reallocate resources to explore the new microbial challenges. For Pakistan, the pandemic was never a single battle front anyway. We were still struggling with polio when the pandemic was declared, sending the EPI programme spiralling down a bottomless pit of despair.

Moreover, nearly three years, several lockdowns and innumerable nasal swabs down, people are mostly weary of the uncertainty around Covid-19. With newer strains being reported regularly, the hope to see it eradicate at least in the near future seems bleak. Businesses have run far too long over zoom and travelling has been painful to say the least. People want to return to normalcy. With quarantine and repeated PCRs knocked off the to-do list and isolation periods revised, the CDC’s new flexi-guidelines seem to relieve some of the piling frustration at least.

Whether due to vaccination or exposure, our immunities are now stronger. This along with better preparedness in healthcare facilities has allowed not just to mellow the morbid aura around the virus but also tone down its effects. People are experiencing milder symptoms and require less hospitalisation. The transmissibility has also reduced significantly thanks to improved immunities. The numbers seem to be on our side.

The current guidelines may be a formality at best, in a world that is currently navigating the pandemic on its own terms. Compliance has been a casualty to free will and guidelines of any sort could never achieve a canonical status in a world replete with obstinate deniers and sceptics, neither did they bring relief to the war torn or the displaced.

The current guidelines may be a formality at best, in a world that is currently navigating the pandemic on its own terms. Compliance has been a casualty to free will and guidelines of any sort could never achieve a canonical status in a world replete with obstinate deniers and sceptics, neither did they bring relief to the war torn or the displaced. Much has been the case with those hit hard on the pocket by the pandemic and the inflation that ensued. Sanitising hands or wearing masks have been cringe-worthy distractions at most. There was non-compliance even during lockdowns, which was perhaps what brought the disease to its deadly zenith in the first place.

The response understandably was never going to be consistent in a disparate and disputed world.

The fact remains that the SARS CoV 2 is a virus at the end of the day. It is meant to behave like one. It requires a host to sustain and thrive and there are nearly seven billion of those on the planet. More so like any other virus this too mutates. Like a seasoned conman it returns to make mischief with a new mask on, every time.

Though the specter of the pandemic will haunt us for decades to come, what started as a fatal viral disease, scything millions into graves across the globe may eventually reduce to the petty ranks of a common cold, over time. It will suffer a natural downfall, written in its own gene. Till then, seems like we have a roomie on the planet. It may serve humanity best to turn the maverick within, a notch down, be wary and let science and nature both take their course.

Let’s make sure this clingy roomie doesn’t ride along on that next flight to Hawaii!