Hello friends,
In my area, it looks like, out of all demographics, the 20-29 year old age range are the most likely people to be carriers. Not the most likely to die from it, but that does happen, still, along with other serious consequences, some permanent. But it doesn't stop people from SPREADING it to those who ARE much more likely to die or suffer badly from it.
People of ANY age, ANY gender, ANY ethnicity, and ANY blood type can be carriers, even when asymptomatic. So, while one group is a little more likely, there's no magical group that can't be a carrier. The numbers are better here in CNY, but still not as good as they were before October. Nation-wide, Covid-19 is still often the leading cause of death, day-to-day, over heart disease and cancer, even.
Please, friends, be careful, and vaccinate as soon as you can. We will only beat this and get back to something resembling normal when we are all responsible citizens and do our part. Think of it as SSC.
1. Make it safer for everyone. Distance, mask up, wash your hands, and do what you can to minimize contact until this pandemic is no longer ravaging our communities.
2. Be sane, and listen to medical experts. Consider the likelihood that the consensus of a vast, vast, VAST majority of medical experts across the globe who have made the understanding of diseases their life's work carries more weight than a few outliers, or that conspiracy theory you saw on social media, which often has a political agenda behind it. The virus doesn't give a fuck about your political beliefs, or whether or not you want to stick it to the other team. Apply critical thinking. I know this whole thing is scary and overwhelming. I know it's causing a lot of suffering, and the things we have to do to get through it are causing suffering. I know we're all sick of it- but none of this makes the reality of the virus go away. None of this, including choosing to just not believe in it, makes it not real.
3. And consider that the people who also have to do things like get food and pay rent do not consent to being given this disease by you. "It's my personal choice" only holds water when you are the only person who suffers the consequences of your choice. If you decide to cut off your own leg, well, that's pretty crazy, but that's a choice you are making about your own body. If you go around cutting off other people's legs, it is other people who are suffering. If you choose to not vaccinate, not mask up, not isolate, and not distance, you have a really good chance of not just getting sick yourself, but also getting a lot of other people sick, and killed. Not being able to physically see the immediate consequences of your actions (or inactions) doesn't make your responsibility for them any less real. People are still going to die because of what you did, so it isn't just about your freedom any more. Being a part of a society comes with responsibilities. Being a part of a community comes with responsibilities. Even small children have to learn this.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel, for some of us, at least. Let's move towards it together, instead of dragging each other back down into the dark. Will you stand with me? Will you do right by your community? Will you be a person who can be trusted to be safe? We can do this, together.
