I was afraid of those very things - for my mother, my therapist, and others I know. The scientists at the various vaccine labs cautioned that there is waning of the vaccines over time, and that it would benefit everyone if they got the jab at month #5, a month before the 6-month mark, when they noticed great peaks in waning. Where the 8-month mark came from was purely political - largely because they hadn't come out with the boosters until about the 8th month when the first round got their jabs. But not all first-rounders got their boosters, including my mother. I worry about them. My mom is 86 years old!! I also worry about my therapist, who is in her early 60s. She will get the booster next week, a week after me. I just hope she doesn't have any breakthrough cases. I don't know what I'd do without my T.

I worry about the next surge in cases because the vaccines among the general population will wane to the point where they are being hospitalized. I also am concerned about those who have long-covid, and how that will impact increased disability claims, the overall economy, and increased vicarious stressors among those who are taking care of, say, someone who had a covid-related lung transplant, or someone who is struggling with a covid-related bed-bound loved one. They likely have to choose different jobs to keep them safe whilst also spending time with them to care for them. I swear that is where many of the workers have gone, and why certain industries are finding it hard to find workers. Who wants to work a high-risk job when they have a disabled person or elderly person at home to care for, or when they themselves have spent time in the ICU and fully recovered, but never want to experience that again. Medical trauma is real, as is vicarious trauma from all the frontline workers who witness this every day!

My friend in Chicago got the flu because his focus was primarily on the Covid vaccination. He was vaccinated with J&J initially, but then he decided to get the full Pfizer jabs #1 and #2 thereafter. He seemed to be doing great with that, but he keeps working out in the gym and training others, while also going to restaurants multiple times every week, and he didn't think he needed the flu shot. He's now sick with the flu. I'm worried about those people, too. Who knows what the flu could mutate into, due to this pandemic.

I swear, in about 6 months we'll see major surges, if not sooner, and the CDC and FDA will probably go back to changing their mind on boosters for all, and full-dose boosters eventually for the Moderna crowd. Or, Moderna and their capitalism will sell to the other countries at the full rate (which they charge more than they do the U.S.) while telling the rest of us to just go to Pfizer for the full boosters in the future. Who knows. This whole pandemic has turned political; money and the business of hospitals over and against actual public safety. It's sickening.

Meanwhile, I can't imagine the mental disabilities from those who have experienced worsening PTSD, depression, anxiety, OCD, and other conditions because of having deaths or disabilities in the family, experiencing medical traumas themselves, etc. I know my condition has worsened from witnessing alone. Over 700,000 in the U.S. dead from Covid-19, and an average of 9 grieving persons per deceased. That's a lot of people grieving in this nation alone.