We are starting to see some periodic progress now that vaccines have been distributed in many countries. However, should we really be excited about these new vaccines allowing us to get one step closer to being able to live life like we used to or are there more to come?
The situation where vaccines being produced from many different organizations all around the world has placed pharmaceutical companies as some are better than the last one which would crown the "winner" a nice market share and (on the side) a huge boost to their country's economy. So which one shall we pick? Will it get to the point where we start seeing COVID vaccine advertisements on TV in between scenes of The Bachelorette? Only time and the basic principles of economics will tell.
But does it really work? How effective would these vaccines be? News has been spreading recently reporting cases of those still being infected by the virus or even feeling negative side-effects to the vaccine. Then again, it's like taking a flu shot and then getting a nice flu after hanging around the dirty dudes of the bar; precautions must be taken. Now the arms race kicks in when companies start claiming there vaccines are as effective and require less storage requirements and even as little as a single dose, here we go again with another round of the highly anticipated USA vs. China fight. Governments are looking more towards which has been shown to be the most effective and which one would be most financially viable. On the receiving end, we the people are the ones who would know for sure how effective the vaccines will be. Well, like all vaccines for COVID 19 flying around, it's too soon to tell and until then, life us still a new game at the casino where we gamble our health away for some freedom. There's nothing wrong with how we keep ourselves and the economy moving but that's simply the small risk we have to be aware of.
So when will we get our old norm back? Let's not kid ourselves, a norm defines itself as a practice that is here to stay for some time. Much like some great "long stay" Airbnb rates, we never know when COVID and the family of mutants will check out. As of now, all we can do is to abide by SOPs until we know the vaccine really works. Until then, don't you think this "new norm" we live in just became more like a "norm"? It feels so foreign yet so normal. However, my projections tell me we'll all be back on our feet and celebrating Christmas with our loved ones freely this year. Until then, we must live life diligently and with consideration of others as we are all in this together -- a famous quote from High School Musical.
Cheers.