Commentary: COVID's impact is fading but still deadly. What have we learned?

This column appears every other week in Foster’s Daily Democrat and the Tuskegee News. Given that this is mostly what the world is focused on right now, Guy Trammell, an African American man from Tuskegee, Alabama, and Amy Miller, a white woman from South Berwick, Maine, write about another year of COVID-19.

By Amy Miller

Oh my God, in not so long we will start our fourth year since COVID became a household word. And yet, in some ways we are more confused than ever. Do we isolate if we are a contact? Or just a close contact? Or not at all? If we are sick and test positive, do we test again after five days, or just wait for symptoms to subside once five days have passed? Do we listen to the CDC, or do we honor the guidance of our most cautious friends?

We are getting closer today to leading lives like we did pre-March 2020, but we know less little more what to do when we actually do get sick, or exposed, or near someone who is vulnerable. We seem to know less than ever what the future will bring.

With winter coming, and the flu back with its nastiest fury, we are sneezing and wheezing with viruses that may or may not be COVID, that may or may not make us sicker than if we actually got COVID. At this point we have trouble even remembering how many years or winters it’s been, how many variants we’ve passed through, even how many boosters we’ve gotten or should have gotten.

I am sick of jigsaw puzzles. I am frustrated that I neither wrote a book nor deep-cleaned my house during the roughly 17,520 hours I spent in my house between between March 2020 and March 2022, when I started venturing farther from home. And I am still angry that some people think getting a vaccine — or not — is a political statement.

Let’s take stock for a moment of what we do know, with the help of New York Times data. As of early November, some 6.6 million people worldwide and 1.1 million in the United States had died of COVID. That includes 2,698 in Maine and 20,558 in Alabama. For perspective, that’s 199 people per 100,000 people dying in Maine and 419 per 100,000 in Alabama, compared to 328 in the U.S. and fewer than 100 worldwide.

Across this planet, more than 5.4 billion people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The United States is about 50th in the rate of vaccination. At least there is one thing I am not confused about. The vaccine saves lives.

By Guy Trammell Jr.

Booker T. Washington was a constant student and learner. As a boy working for Mrs. Ruffner, learning house cleaning, he asked for a favor if he finished early. It wasn’t to leave for home or go outside to play. No, Booker wanted time in her home library, to read her books and learn from them. Upon coming to Tuskegee in June 1881, he walked hot, dusty county roads to meet the people and learn local culture.

He hired the most outstanding Black people in their fields of study to teach at Tuskegee Institute. He was never intimidated by their knowing more on a particular subject than he. He saw himself as a servant to his students, and Tuskegee’s students deserved the best of the best to prepare them to change their world. Booker, their teacher, was still learning.

As we face another winter of SARS 2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) across the globe, people are bursting to get back to doing what they did before the pandemic. Movie theaters are open, indoor eateries and clubs are open, as are other crowded indoor events, all with little or no restrictions.

I am thankful for our Macon County Community Partners Task Force, with volunteers working weekly to protect our county and alert us to stay healthy and make wise health choices.

Over the last two years, cold and flu seasons had all-time low infection levels because SARS 2 mitigation prevents infection from other airborne diseases. Let outside air flow through indoor spaces, wear masks, avoid indoor crowds, and wash hands and gargle upon coming home.

According to Our World in Data, the U.S. (pop. 332 million) has had 99,809,767 cases of COVID, with 1,099,494 deaths, and 97,326,533 recovered. The U.S. is 68.5% vaccinated for SARS 2.

According to the World Health Organization, the continent of Africa (pop.1.2 billion) has had 12,423,000 cases of COVID, with 256,000 deaths, and 9,859,174 recovered. Overall, Africa is 24% vaccinated for SARS 2.

This data shows that African nations fared better in the pandemic. So, should we be like Booker T. Washington and learn from Africa? Some have tried to attribute Africa’s outcome to poor data collecting. That prospective is inconsistent, when you consider that in February 2022 the CDC was found to have withheld SARS 2 data from the public. Some data showed vaccinated 18- to 49-year-olds didn’t need boosters; their immune systems were sufficient. CDC admitted this, but U.S. data is not scrutinized as was the African data.

African nations regularly address health emergencies with innovation, even repurposed drugs. Senegal designated a few hospitals for SARS 2 only, so their other hospitals could treat regular patients. Senegal created ventilators on 3-D printers for $60, a fraction of the standard ventilator cost.

Africa gave birth to mankind, so will mankind show humility and learn from Africa’s wisdom?

Amy and Guy can be reached at colorusconnected@gmail.com

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Commentary: COVID's impact is still here. What have we learned?