We are in the midst of our second (or third, depending on how one frames March of 2020) pandemic winter. Due in large part to the highly contagious omicron variant of COVID-19, cases are higher than they have ever been on a local and national level. Hospitalizations in New Jersey have reached a point they haven’t seen since May of 2020, with daily case records being broken with each new update.While there was optimism that we would be further along in the pandemic’s cycle at this point, instead, it feels like more of the same; that we are repeating ourselves; that little, if any progress has been made. But that is simply untrue.The vast majority of Livingston residents are vaccinated and boosted. While we are, potentially, as likely to encounter COVID-19 in our community as we have ever been, most of us are prepared for the worst outcomes. These innoculations are still very effective at protecting the population from severe disease and death. And evidence appears to show that, while more transmissible and able to better evade vaccines, omicron produces a generally milder disease for those who catch it and are symptomatic. Its immunity also protects people from the more dangerous variants that are out there.Two years ago, there were lines and chaos as people rushed to stock up on toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Last year, it was the same collective panic over vaccinations. Now? The latest “world’s worst scavenger hunt” involves the constant search for rapid tests.While there is no traditional “lockdown,” some businesses and schools have been forced to close for days at a time because too many staff members are sick. We are still in – shudder – uncertain and unprecedented times. It is well worth remembering, though, that we can do the things we feel comfortable with, from gathering with friends and going out to dinner, to seeing movies or working out in a gym. And, most importantly, our children are still back at school in person, with Governor Phil Murphy saying earlier this week that he expects that to remain the case. January of 2021 this is not.It can be disturbing to look at a daily case chart and see an arrow pointing directly up, especially after all this time and all we have endured. But just as quickly as that arrow is rising, it will eventually point straight back down. Hopefully, then, we ...
