Whether you want to believe it or not the pandemic is still with us and is, believe it or not, getting worst. Sure, a vaccine is on the horizon, but it is not here yet and exactly how it will be distributed have not been determined, so far. Even after the serum distribution start it will be a long while before most of us are in line to get it, maybe in the middle of next year.

               The thing that bother me most are the people that are still calling the pandemic, COVID-19, a hoax. There are people on death’s bed and doctors and nurses have given up on them. Some of the patient’s final words are that the virus is a hoax. There is no hope for them, physically or mentally. I was in Red Lobster and heard a man tell his wife that more people die from the flu than COVID-19. Really?

               Worst than that are the people that go to crowded bars, restaurants, clubs, parties (this includes private and family), rubbing shoulder to shoulder and a face mask is almost unheard of (the Red Lobster was almost empty). The people that does this truly do not care about themselves nor anyone else. Yet, they want this pandemic to be finished without them doing their part to stop it. All that these people want (the vast majority are young) is to party, to have life the way they had it before the pandemic, to do what they want to do when they want to do it.

               Everyone has their rights to privacy and to maintain their own body and life the way they want to do it. However, they do not have the right to endanger someone else life in the process. To contract the virus not only endangers my life but the life of the healthcare workers that are attempting to save the ill person’s life. It is the same as other professions, like the police, when a person is requested not to do a particular thing, the person say they have a right to do it and does it anyway. When things go wrong, they call for help to save them from the thing they were requested not to do therefore putting the professional’s life in jeopardy trying to save them.

               There have been fights, attempted murder, assaults, etc. because someone asked another person to wear a mask. People are heard saying they have a right not to wear a mask, the virus is a hoax, and they are young enough that it will not harm them as much. Most of these people have never been in the military because, in the military, you learn not only to follow orders but to be without things for the good of the whole. You do it without grumbling because you know it will not be forever.

               This pandemic will never end with people disregarding science and recommendations form experts in the medical field (non-political, of course). If everyone had done their part in attempting to stamp out this virus, schools would be safe and have in-school learning, everything else would be back to normal or almost normal and we would be looking toward what is coming next. Thanksgiving was a disaster, and we are almost back to square one.

               We are all suffering through this pandemic, whether you have COVID-19 or not, because life is not what it used to be and never will be. Those of you that call this a hoax, does not want to wear a mask and do not and those of you that whine about the slightest change in your life remember you are not helping the situation. When you get the virus, do not call the doctor call the mortician, because it is a hoax and doctors do not cure hoaxes.