GOLDSTEIN: Since we’re all going to get COVID eventually, what’s next?

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As a rising variety of specialists now say we’re all going to get COVID-19 finally — and that an estimated 40% to 50% of us could have already had it — what are the teachings we have to be taught?

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The sport changer was Omicron and its variants.

Talking personally and anecdotally, within the earlier Delta wave I knew two individuals who contracted it, one among whom ended up in hospital (pre-vaccines) however fortunately, survived.

In relation to Omicron, I’ve misplaced rely of the variety of folks I do know who’ve had it, together with me.

My signs had been much less extreme than the colds I normally get two or thrice a 12 months, though with extra aches, tiredness and a persistent cough.

I used to be in a position to proceed working, though I’ve the luxurious of working from residence.

Others we all know (all vaccinated) have had extra extreme signs, together with fever, however nobody to this point has needed to go to hospital, which isn’t to say Omicron can’t be lethal.

In our rapid household, three of us obtained COVID.

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All of us confirmed we had been contaminated utilizing speedy assessments, however after that we didn’t maintain testing.

Primarily based on medical recommendation, I remoted for 5 days after the primary day of signs — the primary day you may have signs doesn’t rely — and after the fifth day, no new signs having appeared, went out, masked, to purchase meals, choose up our prescriptions and replenish the automotive with gasoline.

I might have resumed regular actions after 5 days however I made a decision to attend for 5 extra, given my age and a pre-existing well being situation.

From my casual contact tracing, I could have contaminated three different folks earlier than I began displaying signs, all of whom had been vaccinated, had delicate signs, and are absolutely recovered.

I now imagine, as many do, that official case counts are meaningless as a result of authorities testing has damaged down as a result of overwhelming variety of folks contracting Omicron.

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All of which comes again to my authentic query of what do we have to be taught from COVID now that it seems to be transferring from a pandemic into an endemic stage?

It appears to me the most important lesson is how COVID uncovered the fragility of our health-care system, which was already severely strained earlier than the pandemic hit.

That was a giant cause provincial governments needed to maintain locking us down. Canada has one of many lowest ratios of hospital beds to inhabitants within the developed world.

That led to repeated cancellations of non-emergency however typically medically-necessary surgical procedures, therapies and testing, the antagonistic impacts of that are going to be felt for years.

The problem shall be repair the issue in a rustic the place supporters of the established order greet any dialogue of great health-care reform — apart from pouring extra money right into a damaged template — as advocating “two-tier American-style well being care,” which is absurd.

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Many comparable international locations to ours with common well being care (which excludes the U.S.) have higher health-care outcomes with decrease prices as a result of they’ve discovered higher methods to combine private and non-private well being care to serve the inhabitants.

However most politicians — excluding Jean Charest, now operating for the Conservative management — draw back from discussing this subject intelligently, as a result of any reform of well being care that mentions the personal supply of providers is taken into account the third rail of Canadian politics. Contact it and also you die.

So possibly we’ll be taught nothing.

lgoldstein@postmedia.com