The new norm

As of last Friday, H1N1 clinics are being held across the country in what has been touted as one of the largest imunization rollouts ever to be held in Canada.

This morning, as I was driving into the city and listening to the radio, all I could think was that living with H1N1 is and will be the new norm from now on. Somehow, since the imunization clinics opened their doors, there has been an exponential rise in the number of suspected cases, and hospital emergency wards are all but overflowing despite every effort to educate the public that these areas too would be understaffed, and that consequently the waiting times would be longer.

Many schools and places of business have developed strategies which include asking anyone who is not well or experiencing suspect symptoms to stay home, and to have them checked out by health professionals. Admittedly, all the publication has led to over-hype during these initial days of the imunization process, but the media is also doing what it can to staunch the panic, including a front-page article which appeared in the print version of this morning's Globe and Mail.

Health professionals believe that for those who are well imunized, the effects of this pandemic will be rather mild, but defining mild in terms of just a few lives lost can never be seen as 'mild' since every life lost is a precious gift that cannot be replaced. As the clinics continue in the coming weeks, there will almost surely be a 'calming' effect among the masses, but this first wave has seen more than it's fair share of reaction, fueled by the extensive media blitz that has been employed in the months leading up to the release of the vaccine.

Many who have had little or nothing to do with the health profession may very well become extremely well versed in the lingo, and those who avail themselves of the preventitive measures offered cannot expect that this will be a quick process. What it will be is an exercise in getting to know others, in practicing compassion, and in understanding that when it comes to the microscopic organisms that cause us to panic, H1N1 might very well be here to stay (even just for a while). If we're smart, we'll learn to co-exist, for this could very well be the new norm for all of us.