OMICRON IS JUST A VARIANT: NO MORE SHUTDOWNS AND/OR LOCKDOWNS.

ICHEOKU says Omicron is fundamentally the same coronavirus which we have learnt how to cope with. It should not be singled out, made out and propagandized into something so eerily monstrous that civilization should be deathly afraid of it. So, it does not matter the name given to it, whether Omarosa variant or Omokri variant or Omicron variant, it is simply just another variation of the same virus. As a result, what worked on its other sister-variants such as the Delta variant and their mother-coronavirus herself, will also do the same number against the Omicron variant. They are all branches of the same tree and share the same genetic code which has already been cracked and for which effective palliatives now exist. 

Therefore, it does not warrant locking down of society or shutting down of the economy or any aspect of either as society can cope with the newest variant without being adversely affected and not halted. The lingering effect of the devastation of the nearly two years long shutdown and lockdown is still being felt and there should not be any more of such self inflicted hurt, never again. White House Press Secretary Jenifer Rene Psaki rightly articulated this position when she said that everyone is tired of the coronavirus and Vice President Kamala Harris also reiterated it, saying that Americans are suffering from coronavirus malaise. ICHEOKU agrees with both women and adds that not hurting the society and/or economy again will also help alleviate the lingering dark cloud over our general psyche. 

The generated hysteria over the Omicron variant by lobbyists of pharmaceutical industry and their media talking heads lackeys and accomplices, in their quest to continue bilking the government with their overpriced vaccines, is therefore not called for and must not be allowed any further oxygen. These profiteers are wreaking havoc on our civilization with their influenced  frequent shutdowns and suspension of living activities. It is not good for society's overall well being because a society in constant or permanent comatose is a society that will not be viable for a continuum existence and survival. We must therefore adapt to a new order, a manageable co-existence with the coronavirus until such a time a silver bullet panacea is finally found that will get rid of the virus for good. 

There should be no more shutdowns or further disruptions of our society, especially its economic activities. We should endeavor to end the panicky, knee-jerk reactions of locking down society and shutting down the economy each time the coronavirus morphs or mutates into some variant. Such reactions cause more harm to society's overall wellbeing and most times fall drastically  short of the expected reprieve that necessitated it. Such measures are therefore not worth the real cost of imposing them and it is about time they are ended. As a society, we should collectively say enough, no more and not anymore shall we hurt ourselves in this manner just because of a virus and its mutants. 

The worst of the coronavirus is definitely behind us, we have conquered the initial fear of not knowing what it was about. We also suffered untoward losses in human and capital because of it and now that we have found some protections against it, it is time we called its bluff and refuse to be dictated by it on how we go forward as a society. Although millions of people died from it globally, including over 800,000 Americans; but we should not forget too that billions of people also survived it, including more than 350 million Americans. We should therefore not live our lives in doom and gloom or act as if the coronavirus won because it did not as billions of people are still here and will continue to be for many moons to come, if not forever.

Humanity have accepted the incontrovertible fact that coronavirus is very deadly and may be here to stay, but they have also chosen to continue living their lives to the fullest and refuse to be held hostage by it or start live fearfully under a permanent cocoon of its overshadowing threat of death. Society has found some tools to help them navigate through living with the virus including vaccination, mask wearing and practicing some other hygienic imperatives which will help keep the virus at bay and/or render it less potent if contracted. Society will therefore continue living without being needlessly yoked down by a virus, afterall there are so many other things which regularly kill people and society does not shut down as a result.

We must therefore not allow ourselves to be completely emasculated by fear of the coronavirus or have our lives dictated and tossed around by its variants. As has been established, the coronavirus cannot and will never have the capacity to kill off everybody on earth. By the same token, locking down society and shutting down the economy cannot and will never protect everybody from getting the virus and/or possibly succumbing to it. There is no need putting the heart rates of everybody on a permanent rollercoaster, constantly racing exceedingly too high and worrying about what comes with every new variant. Many are still dealing with resuscitating and resurrecting businesses from the nearly two years lockdown and should not be burdened any further with thinking about the next hit. 

We should make an informed decision that the coronavirus is here to stay and that we have to be smart in making necessary adjustments accordingly towards sharing our planet with it, but not to completely surrender and succumb to its dictates. Going forward, pharmaceutical companies should be nudged into doubling their efforts and not to relax in trying to find a permanent fix to the virus. The only crux here is whether they still have any incentive to work harder towards this objective since they are already making out like bandits, raking in billions of dollars from their already overpriced existing vaccines and other medicines. But that notwithstanding, we should always give them the benefit of the doubt that they are not such Shylocks and vultures cashing in on human sufferings and that they will not relent in their effort to do right by and for society, and will some day, find a riddance to the rubbish.

Anyway, we must say no to a permanent surrender of our lives to the coronavirus by rejecting any future attempt at locking-down our society and shutting-down the economy. Everyone now practically understands the coronavirus, the chances of contracting the virus and the inherent risks of not being vaccinated against it. Those who are still obstinately holding out from getting vaccinated for whatever reason and despite all the currently available information on  coronavirus vaccines' safety and efficacy, should be left on their own devices, and if they get the virus and/or even die as a result, so be it. 

If families continue to allow unvaccinated members to be in their midst, that is a voluntary risk and they should be allowed to stew in their decisions and whatever resulting consequences. If a vaccinated person is reinfected as a result, it is a tolerable risk as being alive has its attendant risks; but with presently available medicines, the outcome will not be too devastating. As a society, we can also consider allowing the filing of lawsuits against and in a clearly established infection by an unvaccinated person. 

But as the cajoling, persuasion, messaging and campaign for the unvaccinated to get vaccinated continue, we should also take into consideration that the risks of infections and even possible deaths from the virus are no longer as high as they once were. The risks no longer outweigh the damage inflicted on society by shutdowns and economic atrophy hence the scale weighs heavily in favor of keeping the society and the economy open. There should be no more shutdowns or lockdowns; and anyone infected should be treated and managed until they either recover or die. The other good news however is that the Omicron variant is not as severe nor as deadly as initially hyped or compared to its other sister variants such as the Delta variant or even their mother coronavirus herself. #SayNoToShutdownsAndLockdowns.