It is December 2020.
The pandemic has been almost a year with us yet the whole of humanity is still under the threat of Covid-19. When the deadly outbreak reached a certain peak in positive cases and casualties the alarming situation signaled that the antidote is a must to be made available.
The matter becomes a necessity when the expected flattening of the curve did not materialize which sent the global health care system to its capacity limit. The scenario was such that the hospitals and medical centers that will address the situation reached their saturation point in matters of human resources, supplies, and facilities.
In view of the above medical and research teams worked it out with the experts in economy to create pooling of skills, talents and financial resources for the project that will come up with a vaccine that will prevent the further spread of the virus. The discovery race for the wonder vaccine is on. Leading names in the global pharmaceutical industries partnered with elite financiers the world over to race against time without being certain that a vaccine is possible. Not only that, they are working against time and odds in virtual trial and error medical experiments hoping that there is at least one from the many that will come out as useful. Not only useful but effective and most of all safe for human application.
With the ongoing developments, there were feedbacks that raised the hope of many. Some medical research quarters came out with news declaration that the vaccine is 90% complete. It is almost but not quite, since the remaining 10% is too big a margin for error to the detriment of the lives of people who are initially lined up for the dose. As of the latest information, the projected date of issuance for the first safe vaccine will be sometime May of 2021. If that is the case, there really is a long way to go. Again, it is not yet final to speak of this early.
With the projected waiting time for the vaccine, the most important thing to do now is for everyone to consider the management and control of anxiety. Difficult times seem to be much longer than the good and easy times. Truth is good and bad times can only last the same 24 hours in a day. When too much anxiety brings us to depression there is no way we can endure the wait for the vaccine. We need to manage everything properly. The vaccine is really too costly for the wait, but it will be a total waste when the recipient of the vaccine is no longer available by the time it is ready. Let us keep ourselves fit and healthy and manage a stress-free life as much as possible. The vaccine will not put meaning into life it is up to us to give meaning to it, more so in the tough times.
By: CARMELLET R. LALAS | TEACHER III | Bataan National High School | Balanga City, Bataan
