First of all: I thought this was really funny.

Also, Encanto is an amazing animated movie, and I’ll post about it soon.

But I bring this up because something’s been bothering me that I think we need to consider:

Catching Covid-19 carries a lot of unhealthy and unnecessary social stigma, and we need to stop treating it like a point of personal or moral failure.

Even now, two years into the #ForeverPlague, I still hear people talking about getting Covid as if they were admitting to having an STD–always in hushed tones with eyes askance. It’s as if the only way a person can be infected is if they are reckless with their health and careless about everyone else, or if they’re a knuckle-dragging science denier whose backwards lifestyle begs to be punished by such an illness. After all, it’s the “pandemic of the unvaccinated” who deserve a long, dark winter of sadness and death, or somesuch.

Weird how even people who are vaccinated can get the disease. Also people who are super careful. Even people in Antarctic research stations.

The other day, I was about to mention during Sunday School that a friend of the group tested positive so that the folks in attendance could pray for a quick recovery. As I was about to mention “the respiratory virus that must not be named,” a couple on the front row practically jumped out of their chairs to shout me down and say that person was just feeling “under the weather.”

This isn’t the only time I’ve seen this type of reaction: no one wants to admit the reality that we’re all getting Covid.

Yes, that’s right, I said it: It’s almost a certainty that we will all get Covid eventually. Probably multiple times.

So much of the public conversation about Covid seems couched in shame and exclusion language, and that nonsense needs to end.

Here’s the reality about Covid-19, gang:

• It’s a respiratory virus, so it’s never going to be eradicated. We’ll have to figure out how to live with it, just like we live with influenza.
• Treatments will continue to be developed and improve. More options will become available for both prevention and treatment.
• Vaccines don’t protect against ever getting infected. It stinks, but it’s true. However, vaccines *do* seem to make subsequent bouts of the illness easier to manage. We can discuss and dispute over whether or not that’s sufficient justification for getting it versus the possible risks and side effects.
• We should all be free to make the decision about vaccines without external compulsion of any kind. This should be stupidly self-evident, but there you go.
• Natural immunity is usually better than artificial immunity. Artificial immunity is probably better than simply living with higher vulnerability due to comorbidities.
• We can do a lot of things to boost our immune systems and give ourselves the best chance to fight off the #ForeverPlague. Take good-quality supplements for Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and zinc. Get plenty of fresh air and sunshine. Drink water. Sleep sufficiently. Eat good-quality food.
• If you test positive, talk to your own doctor (and not some whacko on the internet) about what treatments and medications may be appropriate for you personally based on your medical history and current health status. Again, talk to YOUR doctor and make a decision with YOUR doctor’s input.
• Pay attention to your symptoms and don’t be a doofus and go out in public when you’re clearly sick. It’s not rocket surgery.

To address the end of the video above: yes, people are deciding to go back to work, go back to school, and move on with life. The virus should be taken seriously, but we still have to move on. It’s not the bubonic plague, killing a third of the population in a matter of months or years; with some basic preventative and/or supportive care, 99% of folks who get Covid will be okay in a few weeks. The rest, we can all try to watch out for and help out as we can.

And ultimately, I believe that whether or not you catch the ‘Rona is in God’s hands. Do your best, be wise about it, and trust the sovereignty of the King of the Universe. Our days are in His hands, and we’re not even promised our next breath. So just chill out and be grateful for His myriad blessings.

In conclusion, and by way of review:

• People who get Covid aren’t somehow being punished for their epidemiological sins.
• Covid infection is not a symptom of moral failure.
• Lack of Covid infection is not a sign of personal righteousness.
• Trust God’s hand and plan, and stop being ridiculous about this.

Let me know what you think about all this in the comments.