”(W)hen I asked my helpful local pharmacy for more (COVID test kits) they said their supply had expired, too,” writes Andrew Phillips. “‘The government doesn鈥檛 give us new ones,鈥’ they said.
”(W)hen I asked my helpful local pharmacy for more (COVID test kits) they said their supply had expired, too,” writes Andrew Phillips. “‘The government doesn鈥檛 give us new ones,鈥’ they said.
I did a decidedly retro thing last week. I came down with COVID-19.
I quickly learned that hardly anyone takes it seriously anymore. The test kits I still had around expired in March but when I asked my helpful local pharmacy for more they said their supply had expired, too. 鈥淭he government doesn鈥檛 give us new ones,鈥 they said.
Still, the tests showed positive so I also asked them for Paxlovid, the drug that鈥檚 supposed to ease COVID symptoms if you take it right away. Their Paxlovid supply had expired, too 鈥 in March of 2023 鈥 and the government apparently doesn鈥檛 provide fresh doses of that, either. 鈥淚t should be OK,鈥 they said helpfully.
We should be thankful, I suppose, for this casual approach. After all, it wasn鈥檛 long ago that COVID had turned everything upside down, killing 59,000 Canadians and costing us hundreds of billions of dollars.
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How wonderful that vaccines have tamed this disease and made it a routine viral illness that most people don鈥檛 even bother to test for.
But COVID is still with us, as I learned the hard way. 鈥 a number that鈥檚 undoubtedly way low given most people with symptoms either don鈥檛 test or don鈥檛 report a positive test.
In the same week 47 deaths across 91原创 from COVID were reported 鈥 almost seven per day. And then there鈥檚 the toll of long COVID, which lingers for weeks or months. None of this has convinced most people to keep up with their COVID shots. the federal government reported in March.
But at least we鈥檝e learned the key lessons of the pandemic 鈥 haven鈥檛 we? Surely we wouldn鈥檛 go through such a collective trauma and fail to figure out what went right and what needs to be fixed before the next crisis strikes (experts are already sounding an alarm over the H5N1 bird flu)?
Well, not really. Despite the Trudeau government鈥檚 promise of a 鈥渇ull investigation鈥 of how government handled COVID at the 鈥渁ppropriate time,鈥 the time was never appropriate. and if it鈥檚 left up to governments alone there won鈥檛 be one. There鈥檚 certainly no appetite for a full-blown public inquiry that would inevitably turn into partisan point-scoring at the government鈥檚 expense.
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But that doesn鈥檛 change the overwhelming public interest in drawing lessons for the future. You could begin by just figuring out how much governments spent on fighting COVID and its fallout. and .
There are basic state-of-preparedness questions, such as whether 91原创 really will be able to produce vaccines domestically by next year, as promised, and whether public health agencies are properly resourced and organized for the next time.
And there are equally vital questions about the trade-offs involved when governments go all-out to fight a pandemic, as they did in 2020-21. To take a particularly controversial example 鈥 was it right to shut down schools for months on end in an attempt to stop the spread?
We now have solid evidence showing that was an overreaction. on transmission because young kids rarely spread the disease. Let鈥檚 not make that mistake again.
And what about the toll of undiagnosed illnesses caused by making COVID the overwhelming priority? We have little hard data on that, but it鈥檚 important to figure out the cost of over-reacting to one threat while neglecting others.
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Two think-tanks, . They suggest an expert panel named by the federal and provincial governments. Right now, they say, 91原创 has 鈥渙nly a fragmented, partial picture鈥 of how things worked.
That鈥檚 the least that should be done. Let鈥檚 learn the lessons before it鈥檚 too late.
Camp is an experience the lasts a lifetime that many kids don鈥檛 have access to.
With your support, the 91原创 Star Fresh Air Fund provides opportunities for financially vulnerable children to ignite a lifelong love for adventure at camp. Above all, your kindness makes it happen.
