A few months ago, my daughter received a notification that it was time for her to get a COVID booster.
At the time I hadn’t heard much about COVID and it no one I knew was ill with it.
She got her booster and we carried on with life.
After a couple weeks back in school, she got a sore throat. It was the start of COVID, and she missed a week of school.
It’s the time of year when colds and flu become more prevalent, and now I think it will be known as cold, flu and COVID season.
For a while, it seemed like COVID was gone. I know it wasn’t, but it sure felt like it was.
My daughter is back to health and back in school, but it was a reminder for my family.
I am not sure how, but I managed to escape COVID, and I am grateful it skipped me this time.
We have tools like at-home COVID tests that we didn’t before, we have vaccines, information and an understanding and awareness of masks and other tools to protect ourselves.
Our society has changed to the point where it’s seen as polite to stay home when you’re sick, where before some people felt compelled to attend work and school to show their commitment.
I know people who have suffered from severe symptoms with COVID — it does not always present in a mild way.
When COVID first emerged, it was terrifying — people were dying, and there weren’t any vaccines. It was an illness that I felt powerless against.
When we reflect back to the early days of COVID, it’s easy to think about how we were all so nervous about it, when now it’s seen as similar to a cold and flu.
That’s because of vaccines, tools, and information.
COVID isn’t going away — it’s something that will travel through our schools and workplaces.
Even if it becomes the norm, let’s remember that it can be very dangerous. Not everyone can get vaccinated (and I know not everyone wants to).
As the virus swirls through our communities, it’s important for us to step up our handwashing, social distancing, mask-wearing, and staying home when ill.
Children, elderly and immune-compromised people can benefit from our vigilance.
If you catch COVID and it only feels like a cold to you, please know that it’s not just a cold, and others can be affected far worse.
COVID is a part of life now and I am not surprised my daughter picked it up at school.
I am also grateful for the tools and information that are available to us now, that weren’t available back in 2020, so we can be prepared and have information when COVID finds it way into our homes and families.
Charla Huber is an Indigenous communications consultant based in the capital region whose family is from Beausoleil First Nation and Fort Chipewyan.
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