Kindness and selflessness....

Extreme opinions are often rooted in fear. And, even though I object to the sometimes fatal consequences of extremism, I understand it's roots. Fear, the lack of trustworthy leadership, the lack of trustworthy information or the plethora of mis-information, the absence of understanding and education, the resulting vacuum which is often filled with prejudice, rage and anger. So, what is the antidote? Rising above. I may want to lash out, scream, vent, insult, use my words as weapons, belittle, judge, condemn, do harm....but what I do is in my control even when I am filled with fear. We can chose understanding, acceptance, selflessness and kindness especially when we are engulfed in fearful circumstances and crippled by fear. I will be the first to say that I need to practise this more diligently and I will. We will overcome. Vaccines will pull us out of the pandemic. We have conquered the third wave. Take a look at these outstanding numbers: The R value in the province of Ontario is now 0.75. The percent positivity is 2.56. The number of hospitalized is 373, in the ICU, 426 ( which is up a bit), the number on ventilators, 273. Some perspective: On April 18th, the percent positivity was 9.2, 2,107 were in hospital, 741 in intensive care and 506 on ventilators and there were 4250 new cases of COVID-19 in Ontario. The numbers today were a bit concerning. After several days under 500, we have crept above 500 for the last 2 with 530 new cases today. Crushed the third wave? Yep. Is a fourth wave avoidable. Absolutely. The answer? Vaccines, vaccines and more vaccines and not just one but two. The delta variant is here. It is 50 % more transmissible. The available vaccines in Ontario are about 30-40% effective against this variant after one dose and 80 -90 % effective after the second dose. Two doses will get us there. This is pretty amazing given the fact that our biggest fear was that our present vaccines would not be effective against any variant. Here we are….with great vaccines that keep on working. Five regions have been declared hotspots for the delta variant in Ontario: Peel, York, Halton, Waterloo and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph. As a result, Ontario is moving up second doses of vaccines for Pfizer and Moderna in these areas starting tomorrow morning. People who got their first dose on or before May 9th are eligible. WDG will be inviting more than 60,000 residents to book their second shot this week. Between Monday and Wednesday, those who are eligible will receive an email or text message with booking instructions. As well, the allowed interval between doses of the AZ vaccine has been reduced to 8 weeks from 12 weeks. Is this a good idea? You bet it is. This vaccine is between 60 to 80 % effective at reducing your chances of getting COVID-19. Twelve weeks between doses increases the effectiveness of the vaccine but not by much compared to 8 weeks and in the setting of the delta variant, it is important to get a second dose as soon as possible. It remains your choice to receive the second dose at 8 weeks or 12 weeks if it is being offered to you earlier. We were barely out of the second wave when the alpha variant stormed into the country. That pushed us into a third wave. Now we have vaccines and 70% of Canadians have received their first dose, 12 % are fully immunized. The key to avoiding a fourth wave is to book your first vaccine and stand in line for your second when you are called. Click here to register in WDG: https://register.wdgpublichealth.ca/ Log on to your public health website for registration instructions across the province. Fearful, hesitant, or completely avoidant, these vaccines work. They save lives. We all know the potential rare risks and side effects. Become informed by sound scientific information from reputable sources. Information is power. It conquers fear and allows all of us to make the best choice for ourselves and our communities. Get vaccinated. Anne-Marie Please share. For non-Facebook users, you can find this post here: https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/ And if you'd like to help Bracelet of Hope work towards making sure that Lesotho has access to these vaccines, donate here: https://www.braceletofhope.ca/ways-to-