When I was in Smithers a couple of weeks ago to cover a Supreme Court sentencing, I noticed there were a few people wearing surgical masks.<\/p>\n
I’m not proud of it, but my initial reaction was a little bit judgey. I got over that quickly, though, because I respect it is a personal choice. To each their own.<\/p>\n
After I got back to Prince Rupert, it was a personal choice I wish I had made.<\/p>\n
For four days, I was so sick I became a semi-permanent fixture in the recliner in our living room. I had a side table set up with a cornucopia of drugs, fluids, and other items I might need, just so I didn’t need to get up.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, I had to work on Sunday, but for the next three days, the most I moved was to go from the recliner to bed.<\/p>\n
I know lots of other people who have also been ill. It is, after all, flu season, and some nasty bugs are going around.<\/p>\n
I don’t know what I had, but Health Canada is currently tracking and reporting on three respiratory viruses, COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).<\/p>\n
Among these, COVID is the most prevalent. For the week ending Oct. 18, 2,001 cases were detected in Canada. For the year, there have been more than 13,000 laboratory-confirmed cases.<\/p>\n
The actual number is likely much higher. Case in point, I didn’t get tested as I would have two or three years ago.<\/p>\n
We have completely made the transition from treating this disease as a pandemic to endemic, just like the common cold and the flu.<\/p>\n
B.C.’s COVID-tracking dashboard is now permanently stuck on April 23, 2023 and I am grateful we are over the obsession with it.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, it is still with us, and the current rate of hospitalization in Canada is 1.5 per 100,000 population. It can still be deadly, as can the flu.<\/p>\n
It’s not something I want to go through again. I’ll be getting my shots as soon as I can and revisiting all those little tips that became a mainstay of life during the pandemic phase of COVID (such as frequently washing my hands).<\/p>\n
You may even see me wearing a mask at crowded events.<\/p>\n
You can be judgey if you want, but after what I just went through, I’m going to look at it as the lesser of evils.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thom reflects on getting ill after feeling judgmental about people wearing masks <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":159389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-159388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n