I thought if we got the two-dose vaccination we’d be safe from the coronavirus. I don’t want to spread misinformation here or say or write the wrong thing BUT what the heck is going on? Are we headed for another lockdown? Should I start cancelling all my dreams and aspirations? Is there no end to this madness?

It’s not helping that I am currently in the middle of reading Niall Ferguson’s new book: Doom-The Politics Of Catastrophe. Niall Ferguson is one of the world’s most renowned historians. He is the author of sixteen books on the subject.

“All disasters are in some sense man-made.” Setting the annus horribilis of 2020 in historical perspective, Niall Ferguson explains why we are getting worse, not better, at handling disasters.

One of the things Doom contains is a critical interpretation of the first six months or so of our most recent pandemic, focused principally on Britain and the US. Ferguson proposes that we see Covid-19 not as a shocking “black swan” event but instead a “gray rhino,” a term coined by Michele Wucker in 2016 to describe “dangerous, obvious, and highly probable” occurrences that we should see lumbering toward us but usually don’t. We missed Covid-19, Ferguson believes, in part because policymakers were too focused on climate change. Ferguson thinks that physical distancing, testing, contact tracing, and travel restrictions were useful but that lockdowns were a “historically unprecedented” error and a massive overreaction to a disease that did not appear to be as deadly as the Spanish flu. Doom is a Covid-19 book. From Ferguson’s perspective, it is also “a general history of catastrophe,” covering everything “from the geological (earthquakes) to the geopolitical (wars), from the biological (pandemics) to the technological (nuclear).” (click here for info)

And now we have the Delta Variant to contend with currently. The Delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2, can spread more easily, according to the CDC. The strain has mutations on the spike protein that make it easier for it to infect human cells. That means people may be more contagious if they contract the virus and more easily spread it to others. It is now the dominant strain in the U.S. (click here for more info). In a reversal of policy, the CDC is now recommending we all go back to wearing a mask in public, keep the social distancing of six feet in play and I wouldn’t be surprised if another lockdown may be on it’s way.

I’m seriously thinking about cancelling most of the summer/fall/winter plans my husband and I made. The chance of getting sick from any future socialization just isn’t worth it IMHO. So far, over the past year, I’ve grown accustomed to staying home and if we have to do it for another year (or for the rest of our lives) I have no problem complying. My brother died of Covid-19 and I can tell you, it wasn’t a pretty sight. He died a horrible death. It was fast and it was quick. I don’t want to follow in the path of my brother. Nothing on this earth is worth that.

I’m fortunate enough to live on a 3.5 acre estate in a home that’s adequate for any long term lockdown. We’re mostly self-contained and have future plans to make us even more self-reliant than ever before. Back in 2001 we had the opportunity to purchase 6 acres high up in the mountains. That deal fell through. But in retrospect, it would have been more preferable today to be back up in those mountains. Only time will tell.

The Delta variant is present in all 50 states and now accounts for 52% of new infections in the U.S., The Washington Post reported. In Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, it makes up about 80% of new cases.

Public health officials aren’t yet sure how the Delta variant will ultimately affect the U.S., though it has led to more cases across the world, according to NBC News. Lockdowns and curfews have been put in place in Australia, Bangladesh, and South Africa, and new travel restrictions were set in Germany, Hong Kong, and Taiwan to reduce the number of flights from countries with widespread transmission. (Click here for more info)

I think we’re headed towards whatever Australia, Bangladesh, South Africa, Germany, Hong Kong and Taiwan are going through. The information doesn’t point otherwise.

In effect, I think we are all Doomed.

Like this post? Sign up for free emails whenever I write a new post. You can also follow this blog, for free. Sign up links are posted on the upper right hand corner. I also accept donations when you buy me a cup of coffee and a croissant. Links are posted on the right hand side wall. Thanks for reading my blog!