The Lives That Covid 19 Took Away

When there's a surge of COVID 19 earlier last year, the cases of death rose higher but those casualties were all strangers to me. Then 2021 came, just as most of us thought that things are getting better, the news in India suddenly erupted with reported thousands of lives being cremated due to this pandemic. Then the local cases increase with the so-called new strain of COVID 19. It was reported that the virus is now airborne, which is more alarming and life-threatening. The number of infected is getting higher every day so does the mortality rate. But what was disheartening was the fact that those whose lives were claimed by this deadly virus are not total strangers anymore. They are the son of a friend, a churchmate, a husband of a superior in my department, and a former colleague. 

I haven't met my friend's son, but I am very close to this friend of mine, the mother,  who is a very prayerful and kindhearted woman. I can feel her agony because when his son was admitted to the hospital, all she could do was pray and ask God for a miracle because her son was far away from her. She was supposedly waiting for him to be home after two years of being locked down but when that happened, he was already inside a jar with his ashes.  Then next was my churchmate. It's been a while that we haven't seen each other because she was too preoccupied taking care of her ailing father and brother. It all started with the flu then the difficulty of breathing. Just when she was about to be admitted, she died right in the triage of the hospital. She was not swabbed but declared as COVID 19 casualty. Then another one was the husband of our former School Superintendent. Just a few minutes after he got his first COVID 19 vaccine, he died. Reportedly, it's not due to the vaccine but to his heart attack. Then lately, a colleague from the university where I previously work. I don't know the exact cause but I just read on a Facebook post from his subordinates that he has now turned into ashes. 

Indeed, it is so disheartening to realize that their lives were claimed by this deadly virus to which until now has no certain cure. The vaccine was not even 100% reliable. In fact, rumors were circulating in social media that the vaccine was lethally intended to depopulate the world. This rumor causes some to have a second thought about getting the vaccine.  My husband got his first dose already. He got some after-effects like flu and fever though it was manageable. He got a text informing him of his second dose but was rescheduled due to time constraints.  As for me, I signed up already but didn't get it yet. With this rumor,  I really don't know what to believe but I kept on asking God that when my days will end, it should be because of the aging factor, not because of this deadly unseen enemy. I am still looking forward to getting the vaccine considering that I have little lives to protect, my son and daughters.

Prayer, after all, is the best thing that we can do.

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