I apologize for being the bearer of good news.

Especially when it really does seem like there is any. And, especially when writing about the good news does not seem to be in fashion or in step with the main stream media. God love them. It is their job to report the bad news. Good news just does not sell. And, we need to know the facts.

But there is good news. Fear not. Above all, fear not.

Let's take a look at those 7 day rolling averages again.

Jan. 10 3945

Jan. 11 3555

Jan. 12 3523

Jan. 13 3480

Jan. 14 3452

Jan. 15 3273.....And Jan 18th 3035

The average continues to decline with 2578 cases today compared to 3422 cases yesterday. That decline in the 7 day rolling average is now a downward trend. We have also seen a decrease in the percent of positive COVID 19 test results.

Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams said the current test positivity rate shows improvement from previous weeks when it would spike following weekends.

"The numbers are dropping, I take that as a sign that Ontarians are doing what we're supposed to be doing," Williams said on Monday.

I will whisper this just in case screaming it out loud will jinx it somehow. The provincial reproductive value is now < 1.0 at 0.94. What does that mean? That means that 1 person with COVID-19 is now spreading it to less than one other person. That's because we have blocked the transmission of the virus by not allowing it to have access to as many humans. No gatherings, masks, physical distancing, staying home are all barriers to transmission.

Well done everyone. Your hard work and adherence to the guidelines is paying off. It is so very, very difficult but keep it up. There are 1571 COVID 19 patients in hospital in Ontario, 394 in ICU's and 303 on ventilators. Our health care system cannot sustain these numbers. Not to mention the level of human suffering these numbers represent.

Thank you for doing this, for listening, for following the restrictions. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Lives saved and a healthcare system that just might make it through without catastrophic consequences.

Here is some interesting news. Israel has vaccinated 27 % of their population and they are starting to see the number of new COVID cases decline from record high levels. Ninety-eight percent of the staff at an Israeli hospital who got the second shot have high levels of COVID antibodies.

I am whispering this, again, a little superstitiously but it would appear that mass vaccinations work!!!!

I met with a group of physicians who have been appointed as physician leads for the COVID-19 vaccine roll out in our public health region. It will be our job to become COVID-19 vaccine champions. We will do that with great pleasure and with the scientific evidence that these vaccines are safe and effective. We all agreed that the present delay in receiving the Pfizer vaccine will not prevent us from reaching our goal of everyone being offered a COVID vaccine by September.

There will be a Tsunami of vaccines arriving in March. The delay gives us time to continue to build on a mass vaccination plan that is up, ready and running when the vaccines arrive.

Have no fear. Have no fear.

In the next couple of posts, I will present a Question and Answer format. There are so many vaccine and COVID 19 questions and so many myths that need to be dispelled.

Anne-Marie

Please share.

For mental health support here:

https://familyserviceguelph.on.ca/

For local assistance with anxiety and depression:

www.here4help.ca

CMHA WW Website: www.cmhaww.ca

Here 24/7 at 1-844-HERE-247 or www.here247.ca.

And for post-secondary students, Good2Talk

https://good2talk.ca/

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-

Well look at that!

Under 3,000 cases in Ontario today. That makes our 7 day rolling average of new cases 3273. That's too high and too dangerous for the health care system. We all agree on that.

But take a closer look.

Seven day rolling average:

Jan. 10 3945

Jan. 11 3555

Jan. 12 3523

Jan. 13 3480

Jan. 14 3452

Jan. 15 3273

There has been an almost 700 case drop in our 7 day rolling average since Jan. 10th.

And this!!!

The R value, the ability of the virus to reproduce and spread to others?

Dec. 31- Jan. 6 1.17

Jan. 1 - Jan. 7 1.13

Jan. 6- Jan. 12 1.08

The R value is declining.

Our first lockdown started on December 26th, 3 weeks ago. I am not a statistician or an epidemiologist. But it looks to me like the first lock down is starting to have a positive effect. Just as in the spring, our efforts are working.

The Provincial Emergency Order started yesterday, Jan. 14th. Good timing because our numbers seem to be on the decline which is a great starting point for the new set of orders. We need to be under these tighter restrictions.

"Quick, strong and sustained measures are needed to interrupt rapid growth and maintain COVID-19 control," PHAC said in its report. "Reducing COVID-19 activity is urgently needed as rollout of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines begins."

PHAC ( Public Health Agency of Canada)

If we all adhere, where do you think that will take us? To much lower daily new cases and a much lower 7 seven day rolling average which leads to fewer cases in our communities, fewer hospitalizations and death, a preserved health care system and a province that is ready for mass vaccinations. Do you see the path we are on? I do. And it makes me very, very hopeful.

What we are doing, the suffering we are enduring is not in vain. We will reap the benefits in spades and go back to a normal life. That life will look different. The tools we have used to adapt will change our culture, our way of looking at things, the way we work and communicate and do business... as major world upheavals always do.

Very hopeful this weekend. I have a couple of books to read, a youtube video to create, a new puzzle on the go, a couple of Netflix shows that were recommended to me, lots of exercise, more sleep, more down time. If the averages keep declining and fewer and fewer people get sick or die, I am OK with this brief part of our COVID 19 journey.

174,630 vaccines given in Ontario so far.

15,609 vaccines given yesterday.

1 million vaccines a week start arriving in April.

This looks to me like a pretty decent plan. Let's keep following it.

Anne-Marie

Please share

You can find the statistics in this post at these links:

https://covid-19.ontario.ca/data#case_numbers_and_spread

Go to 'New Cases', click 'Daily' and 'Graph'

Look at the R value graph

https://howsmyflattening.ca/#/dashboard

Look at the 'Effective Reproduction Number' graph. The vaccine stats are at the top of the page.

For mental health support here:

https://familyserviceguelph.on.ca/

For local assistance with anxiety and depression:

www.here4help.ca

CMHA WW Website: www.cmhaww.ca

Here 24/7 at 1-844-HERE-247 or www.here247.ca.

And for post-secondary students, Good2Talk

https://good2talk.ca/

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-

Big Breath and Reset

Some people may be offended that I am posting a silly picture tonight. This was taken yesterday. Anxiety and tensions have really ramped up since the Premier announced new restrictions and a second provincial emergency. We have been flooded with calls. At one point late in the afternoon, I looked down at my desk and saw so many sticky notes that I felt a little dizzy. I am filling my outbox so quickly these days that there is not enough room for all the paper work and it is constantly overflowing. It was tough to try to create a light moment to cut the tension but we managed. Light moments and humour are very important tools. There is a sign on our office door asking our beloved staff to knock before entering so that we can make sure everyone has masks on and is six feet apart before they tackle my outbox. No one has ever had to knock before. I separated my front office staff so that they are even more than six feet apart and we have ordered some plexiglass. Employers need to re-focus their efforts to protect their staff. Many of the new cases in the last month are related to transmissions in the work place. Please take care of your staff. It is your responsibility to them and to the rest of your community. I have almost panicked in the last couple of days. I had a little bit of chest pain this afternoon( anxiety related, my heart is fine). That is my warning sign that I am pushing past or being pushed past my limits. I went for a 40 min power walk which helped immensely and I am already tucked down for the night, aiming for 9 hours of sleep. Seventy percent of your healthcare workers are on the brink of burn out. They are struggling under unimaginable stress. Please support them. The best way to do that is to adhere to these new orders and to be kind and respectful. One of my patients yelled at my NP for thirty minutes today. I will have to deal with that tomorrow. I get it. That behaviour is all coming from fear. We are all afraid. Be kind and gracious if you can. My husband always says, 'When the trough is empty, the animals get mean', or some such thing. Our troughs are pretty empty. Choose kindness. We will get through this. I have no doubt of that AT ALL. Here is where I take my thoughts when my brain and my heart start to feel overwhelmed: Perspective. Perspective. Perspective. For the last two days, the number of new cases in Ontario have been below 3,000. One more day of that and our three day rolling average starts to drops significantly. Is it a trend? It could very well be. More than 30 % of the population admitted to gathering over the holidays. Many of these folks now have COVID 19 or are watching a loved one suffer with COVID 19. Too big a price. But I think we have pulled back from gathering and the numbers may bear that out over the next few days. This is the right time for an emergency lockdown and tougher restrictions. If we pull in for the next month, the numbers will continue to fall. We will avoid the worst projections and keep our health care system from collapse. Just as we get to the 28th day of these emergency orders, vaccines will start flooding our public health clinics. Much faster than expected. Every resident and health care provider in our longterm care homes and at risk retirement homes will be vaccinated by mid-February. Following that, the number of deaths and the need for ICU beds and ventilators will drop significantly. Imagine that. During this lockdown we will see....the curve flattening. Remember how exhilarating it was to be part of that successful effort last spring? We were elated. Elation fights fear and anxiety and burn out and pandemic fatigue. Introduce mass vaccinations just as the curve flattens and the curve will decline. Before the end of February, it is very, very likely that Health Canada will approve the Astrazeneca vaccine. How do I know this? Ok, I am whispering because this is a bit of a secret. They are getting the doctors ready to educate you about this vaccine. Yep. An Astrazeneca-Oxford bulletin was in my inbox this evening. I had a very difficult day but that did not hold back a flood of excitement. I see a youtube vaccine video coming on folks. This vaccine is not a messenger RNA vaccine. Is is a viral vector vaccine. More biological, virological information to follow on that. It is 90 % effective with no serious side effects AND, it can be stored at 2 to 8 degrees which is the temperature of the vaccine fridge in my office. What an absolute thrill it will be if I am given the opportunity to vaccinate my beloved patients. That's where my thoughts go. Above the constant barrage of bad news, above the anxiety and fear and straight to the facts which tell me that in short order.....we have got this. In the meantime, cozy in. It won't be easy. Puzzles, books, Netflix, Zoom, daily exercise, daily mediation or lots of prayer, positive thinking, hopeful thoughts, GRATITUDE and a focus on a future beyond COVID. It is coming. Oh, and by the way. It took me two hours to set up a 1,000 piece puzzle on the weekend. I was looking forward to starting it this coming weekend. I caught my husband red handed. Oh the new things you find out about your significant others and bubble members during lock down. He is a puzzle hog. So much for that puzzle. I am hiding the next one. Anne-Marie Please share. A brilliant thank you to Marva Wisdom, Tracey McGrath, Helen Fishburn, Allison Demuy and Tanya Stuart. This is your 'Finding the Balance During COVID-19 Webinar' team. It was a great event this past Monday. The next webinar is set for February 9th. Stay tuned. For mental health support here: https://familyserviceguelph.on.ca/ For local assistance with anxiety and depression: www.here4help.ca CMHA WW Website: www.cmhaww.ca Here 24/7 at 1-844-HERE-247 or www.here247.ca. And for post-secondary students, Good2Talk https://good2talk.ca/ 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-

ISOLATION

Hate that word but isolation has saved millions of lives and will save millions more while we patiently wait in the queue for a vaccine. I was spending time this morning reading more about the COVID-19 virus. I should be listening to Grace Community Church's online church service and I will but as I started reading, the twenty something science geek in me came alive and was fascinated. I cannot overstate how lucky we are that this pandemic arrived at a time when our intelligence and scientific knowledge and technologies were so prepared for it. The Spanish Flu pandemic took two years to fully resolve and it did so because the virus had killed so many human hosts ( 60 million) and made so many others ill ( 500 million people or one third of the global population) that there simply were not enough susceptible human hosts left to allow the virus to replicate and spread. The only option, 100 years ago, was to let it spread, kill and wait until most of the population had developed immunity through surviving the infection ( 70%). The reproductive value of the Spanish flu is estimated to have been 1.8. The R value for COVID 19 is 1.3- 2.2 and the new more infections strain of COVID 19 ( called the B117 variant) has an R value that is as much as 0.7 higher, making it about 50 % to 70% more infectious. This variant does not cause a more severe illness nor does it have a higher death rate but just by the sheer fact that it spreads more rapidly and infects more people in a given time interval, more people will get ill and more people will die. The UK is in a race against time as this new variant becomes the main virus that is being spread ( the dominant strain). The countries only defence until 70 % of the population is vaccinated or immune is to stay in deep isolation. They will win this race against time because of the effectiveness of the vaccines and because a strict lock down is being enforced. We will win that race too. The new variant is gradually making it's way into the Canadian and North American populations. Three weeks behind.......the Atlantic ocean and travel restrictions give us about three weeks before we catch up with our European neighbours. DEEP ISOLATION....is the tool we need to use with extreme vigour and discipline in order to avoid the terrifying spread of this new variant,COVID 19 B117. We still have time. We can succeed. But we cannot waver from the public health lockdown guidelines which many in the medical and scientific communities believe are not strict enough. And so, here we are. Holiday gatherings caused a 150% increase in the number of COVID infections in school aged children, 1 in 5 school age children have COVID 19 and are asymptomatic. Kids cannot return to school until they have been isolated at home for at least 2 weeks or we will have a public health catastrophe. Kids need to be in school but so many people gathered in small groups over Christmas that they cannot return. That is heart-breaking for the kids, for their teachers and for the parents that again, must find a way to balance on line learning with their jobs and all the other responsibilities they have. I can't even imagine. Premier Legault instituted a curfew in the province of Quebec last night. "The main reason for the curfew is to prevent gatherings, even the smallest ones," wrote François Legault. "It's the addition of all the small breaches of the rules that feeds the virus." But, here is the deadly piece that many of us may not understand. Yesterday, 400 people with COVID 19 were occupying ICU beds in Ontario. Four hundred may not sound like much but this means that many hospitals are at or above their ICU's capacity. This week, Ontario launched an unprecedented effort to mitigate the issue by asking Ontario hospitals to reserve a third of their intensive care beds for patients transferred from busier hospitals in other regions. Patients needing ICU beds in hospital whose ICU's are full will now be transferred to hospitals that have capacity, smaller hospitals in smaller towns and cities. When your local hospital's ICU beds are full, the fall out causes more widespread loss of life. Countries with very limited health care systems and few to no ICU facilities have life expectancies that are less than 50 years of age. That's because there is no system to treat the 49 year old's heart attack. There is no unit to treat the 30 year old accident victim. There is no operating room that can remove cancers, treat gastrointestinal bleeds from bleeding gastric ulcers or ruptured aneurysms. There is no public health system that works to prevent the spread of deadly diseases like HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and COVID -19. It is projected that we will fill 600 ICU beds in Ontario next week. The system is preparing for the huge strategic shifts that have to take place, working together as a massive provincial system to manage this. I fear for people with COVID 19 who will need these beds but may need a risky transfer in an air ambulance to Sudbury to get one. I fear for folks that are about to suffer a serious and unexpected illness or accident in a system that may not be able to offer them acute care and I fear for all the folks whose cancer surgeries and orthopedic surgeries will be canceled again. People die on those surgery wait lists. No judgement here. We all have a choice. We can follow the guidelines or not. Small gatherings over Christmas will prove to have caused a huge loss of life at great risk to our health care system leaving that system less intact to serve you over the next month. My question is, was it worth it? So here is the deal: follow the guidelines now. DO NOT GATHER. I think we should wear a mask everywhere, even outside if other people are around you. Adhere to guidelines at work. Keep the masks on and do your best to stay six feet a apart. Don't take the mask off. Stay in your homes and in your bubbles....only. No one else in your house. Ten can gather outside but must stay six feet apart and I think you should wear a mask even when physical distancing is in place. We will win this race. Vaccines are here. The province will receive enough vaccine to start immunizing the masses in April. Until then, I pray that you will not be exposed, that you will not develop a serious infection that requires hospitalization if you get COVID 19 and I pray that you will not become seriously ill or injured in this time when our health care system has been dangerously overstretched by seemingly innocent small gatherings. And, I pray for the exhausted front-line health care workers that we seem to have forgotten about. Win this race with the fewest casualties possible. Stay home, be grateful, lower your expectations. Find other ways to occupy your time, just for a short time. Reach out if you need help and roll up that sleeve. More posts coming about the adverse reactions of the COVID vaccines. They are rare and not deadly. Join us at tomorrow nights Finding the balance during COVID 19. Here is how to view. This Facebook page or via Zoom/.you can watch it on theCMHA Waterloo Wellington https://us02web.zoom.us/.../reg.../WN_9CPywwkDQvy0KCmQHXug6g. Anne-Marie Please share widely. We need everyone on side. For non-Facebook users, you can find this post here: https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/ We are gearing up to help the people of Lesotho have access to these vaccines. If you would like to help Bracelet of Hope in this vital task, donate here: https://www.braceletofhope.ca/ways-to-

Dignity and Determination

Dignity and Determination:

Did not intend to post tonight.

Even in the midst of what seems like global chaos, basic truths remain the same:

The people of America, just like the people of Canada are basically good and decent.

The USA remains a global leader in science, medicine and technology. Their intelligence in partnership with global partners is responsible for both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

Many of their citizens are involved in astounding philanthropic activities around the world that have saved millions of lives.

The people who stormed the Hill today all seemed to have the same skin colour, basically one gender with a united, extremist ideology. They are entitled, I suppose, to their beliefs but they do not represent who Americans are and they did not have the right to take a life. If all the outgoing president could muster was a thousand or so men, he has no chance of toppling a democracy in the name of his ego.

This too shall pass and reason will prevail. Dignity and decency will prevail and we will be a healthy population again.

It may feel like the world is crashing around us. I had a few moments today when I wondered......

But then, I looked up. Way up beyond our present hardship and saw hope. Human beings are the makers of this madness but we are also brilliant enough to find a path forward. Don't lose sight of that path. Stay strong, determined and united. We are much stronger than we think.

While looking up, my medical ear was on the ground. There will be vaccines available to the general public way before we expect. A tighter lock down, I believe, is required. We may need to enforce restrictions and do more to prevent gathering. And, when we do, the number of new cases of COVID 19 will begin to fall and along with that, the risk of this new variant taking off.

Lock down is vitally important. Avoiding any type of gathering or any breach of public health guidelines will be what gets us ahead of this virus. And, just as we do, the vaccines will roll out across the country.

Stay inside but be ready to put your arms out folks. Safe and effective vaccines are here. And, next week, yes, as close as next week, will be so much brighter.

Have a good evening....because there is good out there!

Anne-Marie

Please share.

The poster will be out tomorrow but our next Finding the Balance during COVID 19 webinar will be this coming Monday night at 7 pm. Our focus will be on staying fit both physically and emotionally during this pandemic. I will do my best to answer your vaccine questions as well but next month's webinar will host our amazing Medical Officer of Health with a specific focus on vaccines and why it is so important to get one.

For non-Facebook users, you can find this post here:

https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/

We are gearing up to help the people of Lesotho have access to these vaccines. If you would like to help Bracelet of Hope in this vital task, donate here:

https://www.braceletofhope.ca/ways-to-

No Nonsense!

Dignity and Determination and....

Why don't we just stop all the nonsense or at least ignore it? I was searching for an analogy for what is presently happening around this whole vaccine thing. I am sure most people have had this experience. Your flight has just landed and the plane is now parked on the tarmac. Just as the seatbelt sign goes off, and maybe a few seconds before, 80 % of the passengers either stand up and wait impatiently at their seats ( locked in with their necks bent in an awkward position under the overhead luggage compartments) or, for those close to the aisle, start pushing their way into a nonsensical line while reaching for their inaccessible luggage. To tell you the truth, as a fellow human being with a brainstem that is wired just like everyone else's, I have to encourage the reasonable, higher centres of my brain to over ride the urge to stand. Sometimes, the urge to stand is so strong that I find myself standing before reason prevails and I sit down. It's a natural response to want, no, need to be first in line. It's a survival instinct but sometimes it's just plain nuts and serves no useful purpose. The jostling, pushing, shoving and all around uncivilized rudeness does not get you out of the airport any faster. How many times have I stood beside the worst of the 'line' bullies waiting at the luggage carousal for luggage that is not even off the plane and how many times have I been out of the airport before they are? Here's my point. It is much more stressful on your mind, body and soul if you push your way to the front of the line especially if you do that at the expense of someone else's spot. Your blood pressure goes up, your heart rate goes up, you start to sweat all of which are bad things to do when you've just descended from a high altitude. Trust me. It's physiologically bad for you. And, unless you are a sociopath, somewhere deep down inside you feel a little bit of shame for putting yourself and your needs first. Shame is a powerful and damaging emotion. Trust me on that one too. All that physical and emotional stress does nothing to get you further ahead. In fact, you are harming yourself for no justifiable positive outcome. There are enough stressors out there. We don't need to intentionally add to them. I was raised to put others first. That's not a moral high ground although some may think it is. That's actually better for me and so much better for everyone around me. When I stand back and let the weak and vulnerable, those most at risk 'go' first, they are better off and I give myself a huge dose of endorphins which are hormones that lower my blood pressure, relieve me of stress and give my mood a healthy boost. If people must bicker and complain about which country is out front on vaccine delivery and who has been designated to get the vaccine first so be it but I am going to make a healthy choice to not listen. The world is hard enough and dark enough right now. We just don't need all the negative energy. Hunker down. Follow the guidelines. Be still. Focus on the good and trust the public health experts and every vaccine task force that are making these difficult decisions. This is a very good time to turn off the news. All we need to know is that there is a dangerous virus out there that is causing chaos, illness and death which you can avoid by being meticulous with mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing. Locked down is the safest way to be at this time. We live in a country that is wealthy enough to purchase millions of vaccine doses that will be available to everyone in the upcoming months. Being vaccinated when the rest of the population is not immune is fairly useless to an individual. None of us are safe until 70 % are immune. The fact that these vaccines exist at all is a massive, massive blessing. They will rescue us an then, we should turn our attention to the back of the line; the resource poor countries who have no hope of vaccinating their populations without the help of the resource rich countries and, mark my words as my mother used to say, the world will not be safe for any of us until we all have access to these vaccines. Nursing homes, congregate settings, front line workers, health care teams in hospitals, emergency rooms and ICU's...these folks go first. Whose next remains to be seen. I am glad to just be somewhere on the Canadian vaccine list. Be patient and kind, people. WE WILL OVERCOME. WE WILL OVERCOME, INDEED. Anne-Marie Please share........and don't forget....so many people are struggling financially and emotionally. If you can, give to local charities that are supporting people in need. Hope House, the Food Bank, the Guelph Community Foundation to name a few. For mental health support here: https://familyserviceguelph.on.ca/ For local assistance with anxiety and depression: www.here4help.ca CMHA WW Website: www.cmhaww.ca Here 24/7 at 1-844-HERE-247 or www.here247.ca. And for post-secondary students, Good2Talk https://good2talk.ca/ 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-

A COVID Christmas and New Year's Day

 

A COVID Christmas and New Year's Day.

Well, the holidays are over. Funny, I feel like something has shifted in my psyche now that the 2020 Christmas season is behind us. I think it might be a new found resilience and a lot more hope. We survived without 30 people scattered about 3 tables, without my brother's egg nog, my sister's amazing baked beans and my niece's Christmas Trifle which....is not better than my pies. One of my nephews makes a mean turkey and my sister-in-law makes the best Chex Mix recipe. She handed me a bag in November knowing we would not be meeting for Christmas. I ate the whole thing without even letting my husband know there was a bag in the house. There was not a massive party at my brother-in-law's cottage on New Year's Eve and no intense schedule of 'friends for dinner and cards' every free night.

I spent New Year's Day in my PJ's making a puzzle. I have not done that in 30 years. My son who lives in San Fransisco zoomed in on Christmas morning. He gave his brother a 'Zoom Embrace' as we were opening gifts. It's looks a little sad with one brother reaching out to virtually put his arm around the other but I think they were .....happy. They were still together sharing a special Christmas moment. My middle son lives alone. He is part of our household bubble. He joined us for Christmas morning but we still stayed six feet apart and wore masks. It is not possible to roast a turkey and stay socially distanced in a kitchen so, we deep fried our turkey on the porch. Best turkey I have ever tasted.

Yesterday, I dropped off Christmas gifts to my daughter and her partner. I was so happy to see her. She was on her porch, I was on the side-walk. She showed me the amazing boots she got for Christmas. I am a woman. I course, I had to touch them. So. she put one of the pair of the first step and I cooed at how soft the leather was.

I spent 9 days in my house without going out. No work, no necessary trips. It was a very unique experience for me. Hats off to all those who have had to do this many times over in the last 10 months. So many lessons to learn about how to manage to learn to be quiet, and still and in some case, alone. Not easy.

All this social distancing, public health guidelines, COVID-19 hardship did not rob us of Christmas. It did make for some special and unique moments. I felt proud of how we all pulled together to take care of each other while intentionally depriving ourselves of the physical company that is usually enjoyed over this season. We did it and in so doing, we loved each other even more.

So, this week will be a very exciting as the Pfizer vaccine is rolled out in the Guelph Wellington Dufferin Public Health Unit. It is by appointment only. Please do not call Public Health for an appointment. The groups receiving this vaccine first know who they are and they have booked appointments. These are people working and living in LTC homes and the healthcare workers on the front lines. And, no. I am not getting the vaccine. Physicians seeing patients under controlled circumstances in their offices with full screening and precautions are at very low risk of getting COVID- 19. Happy to wait my turn and cheer those on who will get the vaccine first.

I will write posts about the new Oxford Astra-Zeneca vaccine this week. Mounting evidence that Vitamin D 4,000 IU daily may be highly effective an assisting your immune system in preventing COVID-19 from settling into your upper respiratory tract and causing infection. It's cheap and safe. I take 5,000 IU's a day and have been for years.

Please continue to follow the lock down restrictions carefully. The new variant is here. The spike proteins on this new variant are more effective at attaching themselves to the cells at the back of the throat, easily over-riding your immune systems initial response and dramatically increasing the chances that even a tiny exposure will cause signifiant illness.

In 2021 we must remain as a tight, united unit that works feverishly together. Our job is to adhere to guidelines while we give the experts and leaders a chance to role out vaccines and tend to the ill.

Happy New Year......and this is the last time I wear pyjama's in a post. I do have my limits!!!

Be well, be strong. Take your new found resilience and carry it confidently into 2021.

Anne-Marie

Please Share.

The holidays are very tough for many.

For mental health support here:

https://familyserviceguelph.on.ca/

For local assistance with anxiety and depression:

www.here4help.ca

CMHA WW Website: www.cmhaww.ca

Here 24/7 at 1-844-HERE-247 or www.here247.ca.

And for post-secondary students, Good2Talk

https://good2talk.ca/

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-