EDITORIAL: We must fight together
02 December 2021 | Opinion
Once again, the flimsy sense of control humans love to think they have over the world and their environment has been brought to a sharp halt by a microscopic virus.
The new Covid-19 variant, and its possible implications, has led to swift and tedious border closures and tightened travel regulations, shutting the doors on those who could still afford holiday plans that involved border crossings.
We should know by now that while the pandemic rages, and the virus adapts and evolves, we have very little control.
But humans don’t like to be bested or told what to do at the best of times, as heated debates and low vaccine uptakes have shown.
And so Covid is likely to continue to disrupt plans.
Scientists agree that while there is little control, our best arsenal consists of behavioural changes such as social distancing, and vaccines.
And while Africa, rightly so, has condemned the slew of travel restrictions imposed on the region before scientists have determined the exact nature of Omicron, the truth is that the worryingly low vaccination rates are a red flag.
We do not know anything substantial about Omicron yet, including whether current vaccines will prevent severe illness and death as they have done against Delta.
And in that absence of certainty, with two years of Covid-19 fatigue deeply settled into the bones of every human being on earth, it’s no surprise that caution trumps reason for the time being.
The new Covid-19 variant, and its possible implications, has led to swift and tedious border closures and tightened travel regulations, shutting the doors on those who could still afford holiday plans that involved border crossings.
We should know by now that while the pandemic rages, and the virus adapts and evolves, we have very little control.
But humans don’t like to be bested or told what to do at the best of times, as heated debates and low vaccine uptakes have shown.
And so Covid is likely to continue to disrupt plans.
Scientists agree that while there is little control, our best arsenal consists of behavioural changes such as social distancing, and vaccines.
And while Africa, rightly so, has condemned the slew of travel restrictions imposed on the region before scientists have determined the exact nature of Omicron, the truth is that the worryingly low vaccination rates are a red flag.
We do not know anything substantial about Omicron yet, including whether current vaccines will prevent severe illness and death as they have done against Delta.
And in that absence of certainty, with two years of Covid-19 fatigue deeply settled into the bones of every human being on earth, it’s no surprise that caution trumps reason for the time being.
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