‘End is in sight’

“It seems that an end to this pandemic may be in sight.”
To hear those words coming from a local health official last week was music to the ears of area residents growing weary of the year-plus-long battle with COVID-19. It’s been a long, scary, frustrating, emotional journey on so many fronts and to know that this pandemic is or very soon will be in the rear view mirror is a relief beyond measure.
Attending local graduations, as well as bigger events including the Nebraska state high school track meet, has offered a breath of fresh air for many reasons. It’s invigorating to see family, friends, communities and energetic crowds together again, enjoying and celebrating life as it is meant to be lived. 
The CDC’s recent rule change making masks optional for those who have been fully vaccinated opened the floodgates for a rush to return to some sense of normalcy — finally! To be sure, many reached the conclusion that this global pandemic has been blown out of proportion from Day 1, but that is and will always remain a matter of perspective. 
The reality is that schools, churches, businesses and in fact every aspect of life was altered in a dramatic way by health protocols put in place to try and save lives, so no what level of danger you felt from the pandemic all of us had to cope with its impact. Health care workers faced with life-and-death struggles linked to COVID remind us how dire the situation was at ground zero.
As of this week, 150 deaths were attributed to COVID-19 here in the Central Health District, including 18 here in Hamilton County. For those families who experienced such personal loss, there is no debating its threat and our hearts go out to them.
Moving forward now, it will be interesting to see how different aspects of our lives continue to be impacted by lingering protocols, and how long those will be in place. Requiring proof of COVID vaccination for anything, including global travel and perhaps even employment, is problematic and ripe for challenge and abuse. Questions concerning the legality of requiring personal health information such as vaccination cards, and how to verify and save that data, are sure to be challenged, and understandably so.
Which brings us back to a premise that has helped carry us through this once-in-a-lifetime struggle, and that is that when the chips were down the theme song of “There is no place like Nebraska” rang true here in the Heartland. It helped immeasurably to live in a place where we trust our local officials and public servants, and generally respect one another. That, and we had constant access to clean, fresh air and wide open spaces that let us breath in both relief and perspective.
That made a world of difference.
Kurt Johnson