NOTE: This column was written and published before the delta variant surge in 2021.
Some days, only one person dies of Covid in the whole state of New Mexico. Good news, right?
No, it most emphatically is not.
It is good compared to the months of isolation, children stuck at home, crowded hospitals, exhausted nurses, and much bigger fatality numbers. But, frustrating though it may be, we are not all the way out of danger yet.
News releases come from the state Health Department every weekday, giving case counts, death counts and other statistical details. Some days there’s only one death. That is less bad, but still not good.
Some days the news release says, with no personal information attached, that the person who died had a pre-existing condition, as if that makes it okay.
The new delta variant is in New Mexico, so far not in large numbers. This mutation is much easier to catch, or to transmit, than the original disease. Even if you are vaccinated, there is a slight chance you can catch it and a slighter but not zero chance you can transmit it to someone else even if you don’t get sick.
We know much less about the mystery illness that follows Covid in an estimated 10 or more percent of cases. Based on the statewide total case count of a little more than 200,000, there could be more than 20,000 New Mexicans with this condition.
The mystery illness is called long hauler syndrome. That’s a generalized term for several different sets of symptoms, affecting people of all ages. The one thing they have in common is that they all happen after a case of Covid — not necessarily a severe case of the original disease.
Some people lose taste and smell. Some develop shortness of breath, chronic cough or other symptoms reminiscent of chronic fatigue. “Brain fog” seems especially frustrating for patients who become unable to think clearly or do not have enough energy to go back to work. For some patients, the symptoms don’t clear up.
Recognizing that Covid is still lurking among us, that’s another reason to be cautious. I’m trying to dial my mental state to the right setting somewhere between relief and vigilance.
But I was shaken out of complacency recently when I touched the wrong buttons on the remote and accidentally tuned to a TV station I don’t usually watch. The speaker was delivering a diatribe. He called Covid a “scam-demic” and described people wearing masks as putting dirty diapers on their faces.
After a few shocked minutes I realized the show was an infomercial aimed at viewers who don’t trust the government. It was selling investment products that are supposed to be safe from financial collapse. The logic here was that if you’re concerned about the future, don’t take precautions, don’t trust the science, and make vicious fun of those who do.
But dirty diapers, really? Does that image really reflect what some people have been thinking? Did it ever? Did that language ever sell the product to a single customer in New Mexico?
I would really like to know if it is still necessary to persuade anyone in New Mexico that the virus is real and masks are protective. For those unvaccinated and determined to stay that way, the risks have grown.
The biggest concern remains the possibility of more new mutations that are resistant to the vaccines. Viruses mutate, and the next dangerous new variant could arise halfway around the world or right here. For an unlucky few, the long haul symptoms may last a lifetime.
If we had all followed the guidance when the virus first reached the United States, the pandemic here might have been over in a month. Six hundred thousand deaths later, if we’re vaccinated we can relax, but we must continue to do so with caution.
© 2021 NEW MEXICO NEWS SERVICES