We have been in lockdown since December 26, 2020, and an additional "stay-at-home" order since January 12, 2021. The schools have been shut down since the break for holiday season.
The government started administering vaccines begining December 15, 2020.
The numbers are coming down. In my city the average weekly new cases are in the 1500/day.
Is it due to vaccines or due to people staying-at-home?
It's more likely to be from people staying-at-home, and more specifically children staying at home. Prior to the schools closing, there were outbreaks* at about 150+ schools in the province of Ontario. These contributed to the increase in the transmission in the community.
The lock-downs/stay-at-home cannot be a long term solution. Vaccine is being rolled out at a snail pace, and it's about to get slower as companies are re-thinking distribution and countries are thinking of new policies around vaccine distribution.
Vaccines are showing some flaws. Given the speed they were developed and approved, it doesn't surprise me that they have side-effects, and one may still get it even after being fully vaccinated*. In addition new variants of the virus, which are more transmissible and more deadly are popping up.
When it started a year ago around this time, I admit, it threw me off balance so much that all I could care of was to be able to pass one more day without getting it. When the numbers started going down last summer, I had a glimmer of hope that maybe the virus has taken its course and it's dying out on its own, sort of like Spanish Flu. Things are different now.
The measures in place, plus the new variants paint a depressing picture. How and when can we go back to living again?
I definitely don't know the answer today.
*Outbreak: 2 or more cases of COVID-19 positive within 14 days.
*Fully vaccinated: both shots administered
