Our climb up this mountain of COVID-19 is not personal, nor is it local or national.
We are all scaling the same mountain of COVID-19.
Sometimes we ascend, sometimes we descend and, sometimes, we scramble sideways for footing. The challenges keep changing in the pandemic, now 18 months long.
Only 0.9 percent of people in low-income countries and 23.1 percent of the world’s population have received at least one dose of a vaccine against the formidable virus, according to Our World in Data (June 28). While some delay making a decision about vaccination and their governments try to entice them with money, complimentary hotel stays and free visits to tourist attractions, most people have no choice but to wait and hope for vaccines.
In Portugal, for example, there is a vaccine shortage as the government expected 11 million vaccines in the second quarter but received only 7.2 million, according to SIC Noticias (June 23). A total of 51.5 percent of the population has received one dose, reported Our World in Data (June 28).
In the meantime, the new coronavirus takes the opportunity to mutate another variation, and nations around the world revamp their strategies. The Delta and the Delta Plus variations are the latest.
Yet, our climb up this mountain is not personal, nor is it local or national. We are in a global epidemic, and we are scaling the mountain together.
No one is safe until everyone is safe.