Yes, it's over! All over! 2020 is thankfully now a thing of the past! I still remember those days of the early stages of the pandemic and the resulting weeks of gloom of apprehension and uncertainty which were looming over us in the early stages of 2020, like those happened just last week. And I am quite sure that like me, many of you would reciprocate my feelings here. But seriously, now that 2020 is past us, we can breathe a sigh of relief perhaps.
It would perhaps sound sheepish to just think of this relief from the mere psychological point of view that the year of doom and gloom that 2020 was, is over. The sense of calm and relief should perhaps be more attributed to the fact that now as a race, we are equipped with multiple vaccines, which have already started inoculating masses in the US and UK and which are also going to be mass-administered in India as well very soon. So perhaps, we are finally looking towards the light at the end of the tunnel. Debates will be there, of course, on the safety of these vaccines, given that they have been developed and tested in record times. Given the rough estimate of about 4-5 years which an odd vaccine take to develop, the vaccines for COVID-19 has been developed well within a year. But one thing that has to be said is that the researchers have really slogged really hard and put in their every bit of effort (humanly possible) to bring in these vaccines and hence we have these vaccines, this early. So yes, we can look at these with optimism, for our primary defence against the virus is there.
Our sense of relief can also be further accentuated by the fact that we have perhaps already seen the worst that the COVID-19 could have inflicted upon India and the world. Coming from the peak that was reached in September, the cases have come down a lot and is now kind of under control, to be honest. Special credit must be given to everybody who have stuck at homes during the long festival season in India and thus have helped a long way in keeping the number of infections under control, in the face of great apprehension and fear that doom was looming all over us, with the onset of the festivities here. And mind you, not even the entirety developed Western world can take credit for this, because they have and are still continuing to see multiple COVID-19 peaks. So fellow Indians, pat your backs once more! That thumbs up is for you!
Add to the above the wealth of experience which the last five-six months have contributed to all our doctors, researchers, virologists, epidemiologists and the likes. At the onset of the pandemic, nobody knew practically about this new evil, but now, they have so much knowledge, so many experiences, the general trends, symptoms, etc., that they should be and are feeling more confident than they were on, say, April. That's a real boon, honestly, given the fact it is they who are leading the battle against this 'unknown' enemy and are now holding the edge for us, the humanity. Kudos to you, guys! You are the real heroes, no lesser than the soldiers who are guarding the borders in inhospitable zones.
So, there you have it. Lots of hope, optimism, positivity and the eagerness to look forward to on this first day of the new year. There's this kind of old feeling of exuberance that a new year has started, which kind of resonates the feeling we have on this day every year. I am really not sure if the latter part of the 2020 didn't go much good, we would have been able to welcome 2021 like we are doing now. Of course, there's this feeling that the wretched year is going for good and we should welcome the new year with all the fanfare. But imagine a situation where say the vaccines have not worked in Trials, or say the virus has mutated to such a extent rapidly that scientists are finding it difficult to sequence the altered DNA and hence are not being able to arrive at a possible formula for the vaccine. Oh, I will spare you the chills, for these are just hypothetical scenarios, which I just wanted you to think about. Do you think, if any of these had occurred, we would have been welcoming 2021 with so much glee? I don't think so! But we are doing, right? So something just tells me we are moving in the right direction! Victory to humanity!
