Not So Fast, Buddy

 

"It does leave one very tired and exhausted doesn't it, this horrible pandemic?"

— Queen Elizabeth

Yesterday I declared that “Covid is over,” which immediately drew a number of comments from friends begging to dispute that claim. And I take their point. Especially in some places and situations, it is still necessary to take precautions to avoid infection.

Certainly in Shanghai, for example, the virus has continued to dominate life lately, but there are other examples all over the world.

So, mea culpa on that one. When you write every single day of the year like I do, you’re going to get something wrong now and then. Probably what I actually should have written is “Personally, I am so over Covid.”

I’m so tired of the isolation we have endured since March 2020 that I could scream. That it was utterly necessary is not in question. Hundreds of thousands of us are alive because of masking, social distancing and vaccines.

And millions are worldwide.

But everywhere I look I also see the damage that isolation has done. And that is my main worry now.

Covid may indeed continue to make comebacks — new variants will continue to spring up here and there. And even though they almost certainly will be more contagious as they mutate, they also appear to be getting less lethal.

So that means the virus is retreating to something more akin to the flu — still a nasty infection one wants to avoid but only life-threatening in extreme situations.

There is no need to debate whether or when Covid will achieve endemic status; it will. And its impacts have already been severe. An entire generation of infants have been raised unable to read the emotions on the masked faces of the adults caring for them or of other children.

You’ve no doubt seen the same studies I have — this could cause incalculable harm to their emotional development.

And an entire generation of young adults had their age-appropriate socializing and networking stolen from them when educational institutions necessarily had to go virtual. I worry about the impacts on them.

Plus the elderly have been especially hard hit with so many premature deaths cutting short their chance to enjoy retirement, meet grandchildren, or tell their stories before passing on.

So the human tragedy has been immense, and (as usual) it has been disproportionately borne by the poor, minorities and rural populations.

None of this even begins to describe the unknown health impacts of “long-term Covid,” or the effect of vaccinations on the young. There are disturbing studies suggesting brain abnormalities, dementia and other potential impacts.

There is much we don’t know and I don’t take any of that lightly.

Yet in the end I’m just too tired of thinking about Covid to let it intrude on my consciousness any further. Yes indeed I am over it — perhaps too over it to be useful as a Covid commentator any longer.

Today’s News (40):

1. Racing for safety, Ukrainians meet new perils. (NYT)

2. Ukrainian troops have repulsed several Russian assaults in the country's east, the focus of a new offensive by the invading forces, British intelligence said, while President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said this week will be crucial to the course of the war. (Reuters)

3. Ukraine’s Zelensky Calls for More Military Aid as a Chemical Weapons Attack Is Alleged (WSJ)

4. As war enters bloody new phase, Ukraine again calls for more weapons (WP)

5. Zelenskyy said his nation came together as a "single fist" to resist Russia's invasion, but warned the outcome will depend on support from the U.S. Addressing reports Russian President Vladimir Putin was expecting him to flee Ukraine in the early days of the war, Zelenskyy said he recognizes the dangers of staying, but he is prepared to die for his country. [HuffPost]

6. A Stricken Ukrainian City Empties, and Those Left Fear What’s Next (NYT)

7. Champion boxer turned Kyiv mayor becomes a rousing wartime leader (WP)

8. Tens of thousands of people have likely been killed in Russia's assault on the southeastern city of Mariupol, Zelenskiy said, as he asked Seoul for any military aid it could provide. (Reuters)

9. Mariupol mayor says siege has killed more than 10K civilians (AP)

10. Ukraine’s Draft Dodgers Face Guilt, Shame and Reproach (NYT)

11. An airport was destroyed and several civilian targets were damaged. (WP)

12. Ukrainian defenders dig in as Russia boosts firepower (AP)

13. Israel’s Ukraine Policy Prompts Scrutiny of Russian-Israeli Oligarchs (NYT)

14. ‘Everything Was Destroyed’: War Hits Ukraine’s Farms (NYT)

15. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has indicated that the multinational alliance plans to heavily bolster its military presence on its eastern border long-term. This is part of a "reset," which would involve an increase in national defense spending by member countries. [HuffPost]

16. How Kyiv was saved by Ukrainian ingenuity as well as Russian blunders (Financial Times)

17. Russia says it destroyed missile systems supplied to Ukraine (NHK)

18. 'Russian soldiers raped me and killed my husband' (BBC)

19. VIDEO: ‘We’ll Bury Them, Like Humans’: Ukrainian Officials Identify Bodies in Bucha (NYT)

20. White House Expected to Name New Commander to Lead Allied Forces in Europe (WSJ)

21. The dysfunction in the food arm of the FDA (Politico)

22. Eight Months Later, A Look At The Taliban's Broken Promises (NPR)

23. Islamic State morphs and grows in Pakistan, Afghanistan (AP)

24. The Federal Reserve is expected to deliver two back-to-back half-point interest rate hikes in May and June to tackle runaway inflation, according to economists polled by Reuters who also say the probability of a recession next year is 40%. (Reuters)

25. In a major reversal, Elon Musk won’t join Twitter’s board of directors after all (WP)

26. Macron to Face Le Pen for President as French Gravitate Toward Extremes (NYT)

27. Joyce Vance, a former U.S. attorney in Alabama, said Donald Trump Jr.'s texts to then-chief of staff Mark Meadows about taking “operational control” of the 2020 presidential election even before the race was called “could be a smoking gun” amid ongoing criminal probes into the Jan. 6 insurrection. [HuffPost]

28. Before Giving Billions to Jared Kushner, Saudi Investment Fund Had Big Doubts (NYT)

29. China's financial center of Shanghai started easing its lockdown in some areas on Monday despite reporting a record of more than 25,000 new COVID-19 infections, as authorities strive to get the city moving again after more than two weeks. (Reuters)

30. Philadelphia to restore indoor mask mandate as cases rise (AP)

31. Some scientists think a squirt of droplets up people’s nostrils could help block infections — and limit spread of Covid — by creating a wall of immunity in the airways, where viruses take hold. (WP)

32. Guangzhou closes to most arrivals as China’s outbreak grows (AP)

33. Jan. 6 Panel Has Evidence for Criminal Referral of Trump, but Splits on Sending (NYT)

34. Study: Africa cyclones exacerbated by climate change (AP)

35. Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid (Atlantic)

36. President Joe Biden will announce a new rule to rein in ghost guns and ban the manufacturing of such firearms as the administration faces growing pressure to crack down on gun deaths and violent crime in the United States. (Reuters)

37. California utility to pay $55 million for massive wildfires (AP)

38. John Lennon's son, Julian, performs 'Imagine' for the 1st time, in support of Ukraine (NPR)

39. Why American Teens Are So Sad — Four forces are propelling the rising rates of depression among young people. (Atlantic)

40. Supreme Court Agrees To Hear The Case Of The Haunted Harbor (The Onion)