How To End A Pandemic: A Practical Guide

in DIY / Family / Featured / Food / General / Inspirational / Lifestyle / Productivity / Social  by BHPOmom 0 comments

How do we end a pandemic? A person like me, who has no medical or scientific training, can do nothing to actually end the pandemic on the medical front. I don’t make vaccines, I don’t understand aerosols or virus transmission, I do not work in public health, and I do not make public policy. I am horribly needle-phobic and definitely will not be administering any vaccination shots to anyone. I will, however, happily receive one ASAP.

I am a woman of action, and I am guessing you are a person of action, too. Doing purposeful things makes me feel better. Here is a list of actual things you can actually do to both end the pandemic and support those who are working hard to end it, too.

Help The Helpers

Who do you know – personally – who is working on the front lines of this pandemic battle? Do you know a doctor or a nurse or ER tech or hospital therapist or EMT? Do you know anybody who works physically, in-person, in a hospital? Do you know anyone who works physically in a school? Or a law enforcement officer?

Actions:

  1. Take 60 seconds and think of all the people you know who fit the description above – get creative. Your neighbor’s cousin counts.

 

  1. Take 30 seconds and write down anyone you know who is working in-person on these efforts right now.

 

  1. Take 2 minutes and text these people (or their friend or partner or someone who knows) and ask how you can help. Pizza? Coffee? Candy? Masks? Sanitizer?

 

  1. Pick a thing and do it. Coffee for nurses? Great. Fundraise on your social media, via text, via email, among your networks, for a big coffee gift card, go buy it, and deliver it to your nurse friend, who can bring coffee to the hospital. Pizza for the ICU staff? GREAT! Fundraise on your social media, via text, via email, among your networks, Venmo your doctor friend, and let her order pizza delivery (or, if she prefers, place the order for her).

 

Total time for the picking and the doing? Maybe 30 minutes. Maybe 5 hours. It depends on how big you want to go.

 

Total time expended: 3.5 minutes planning. 30 minutes – infinite minutes executing. Start small. Do the 33.5 minute plan.

 

Total of your own money expended: $0 – infinite. Do what you can. Crowdfunding is beautiful because it amplifies the power of even the smallest of gifts. Do not get hung up on details. GO HELP.

 

Listen to Science

 

If you’re a COVID denier, find another blog. I have no time for you.

 

Actions:

  1. Listen to science. Multilayered masks are better now? OK! Do that. Six feet of distancing is the minimum to stay safe? Do that. Big house parties are superspreader events? Don’t do that. This is not complicated (note: I didn’t say it was easy to do this. I said it wasn’t complicated). Do your part to stop the spread – take responsibility for your own actions.

 

  1. Get vaccinated when it’s your turn. Look back at the heading – we are listening to science! By not getting COVID, you’re helping to stop the spread and end the pandemic. To not get COVID, do everything you can – including making good decisions and getting a vaccine.

 

Be Honest

 

Complying with public health orders is not complicated. You read them and then you do what they say. But it isn’t easy, either. The orders change all the time. The metrics change all the time. The numbers and case rates and strains and variants….it’s endless. It’s hard to keep up. This is hard.

 

Action:

  1. Be honest with yourself: this is hard. This is not fun.
  2. If you are a parent, be honest with your kids. Tell them it’s hard for you! Tell them you understand that it is hard for them! Lying about problems doesn’t solve them. Be as honest as you can.

 

Pleasures

 

I saw an article about “guilty pleasures” the other day. I do not believe in “guilty” pleasures. One should not feel guilt about one’s pleasures. This is a crappy time. If you are able to find joy in something that does not harm others, why feel guilty about it?

 

Actions:

  1. Lean in to things that bring you pleasure! It’s the only way we can get through this.

 

Here is a list of things I have seen bring others joy.

  1. Hiking
  2. Exercise
  3. Camping
  4. Playing a musical instrument
  5. Crafting
  6. Writing
  7. Socially distanced or virtual happy hours/game nights/activities

Here’s the honest list of what brings me joy in a pandemic:

  1. Helping the helpers (see above)
  2. Texting memes to friends
  3. Reading celebrity gossip
  4. Following @livingwithpickles on Instagram (thank me later)
  5. Dance parties with my daughters
  6. Purchasing garbage snacks I would never normally buy (I see you, Ding Dongs)
  7. Watching the waves at the beach without actually setting foot on the beach

 

  1. Ditch the guilt.

 

  1. Find some small ways to bring some joy into your life. Are you too COVID-stunned to realize what brings you joy? Try some things from the lists above that don’t sound terrible and see if they work. If all else fails – google.

 

How do you do your part to end the pandemic? Tell me in the comments!

Xo,

BHPO