Facing the New Normal
As I start to write this article, the news of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 virus is the main news in media. By the time this article reaches you, the context of COVID-19, might have changed, for better or worse, I do not know. But one thing is sure, we are living in uncertain times. Most nations and experts were sure that we are turning around the bend, only to be disproved again, like the multiple times over the last few months. As of today, ongoing uncertainty seems to be the new normal. Uncertainty that comes out of a new normal of living with the virus. Epidemics can end two ways - transmission is well controlled and new cases come down to zero, and the epidemic is history. The other is, the disease becomes an ongoing part of the infectious-disease landscape, or an endemic. The shift from pandemic to endemic entails a number of practical considerations for managing the epidemic and the way we live. But the shift is also psychological, as we will be deprived of the satisfaction