There is a phenomenon in endurance sports called "hitting the wall." This describes the moment when severe fatigue engulfs athletes due to their glycogen stores being depleted. Having a plan to either avoid the wall altogether by carrying sources of energy like Gatorade or energy bars with you or training in such a way as to be able to get through the wall is key to succeeding at such daunting endeavors as running a marathon or competing in a triathlon.
In case you haven't figured it out yet, the Covid-19 pandemic is a marathon. Many have characterized it as such, and it is an obvious and fitting metaphor for a public health crisis requiring endurance unlike any we've seen in decades.
Given our low case numbers here in New York, it may be tempting to believe that we're in the home stretch of this race, that the finish line is just around the corner, but even if a reliable vaccine were released tomorrow, it would still take time to distribute it. Time to administer it. Time to allow immunity to build. All of that time we would still need to remain vigilant in our fight to keep ourselves and our communities safe.
And there is no vaccine that is going to hit the market tomorrow.
Most likely, there are still months of this marathon ahead of us, exhausting words to even write, much less contemplate. But as I talk on the phone with friends and family and colleagues in hot spots like Texas and Utah, I know that the threat is still very real and that we may see a resurgence in cases if we don't keep doing what we need to do.
This is why everyone has to keep running. Don't let Covid-19 fatigue engulf you. Don't run the risk of hitting the wall. In the last few weeks, there have been a rash of events flouting social distance guidelines -- weddings and birthday parties, among others, and these have led to corresponding mini-booms in positive cases and associated quarantines.
Because everyone is sick and tired of the social distancing requirements, of course it's understandable that people would want to gather with 50 or 60 friends and family members. But that is letting the fatigue win, because we know that gatherings of that size drastically increase the risk of transmission and infection.
And if we're going to make it to the finish line with as many of us alive and healthy as possible, we cannot do this. We must keep wearing masks, washing hands, maintaining distance, and avoiding groups. We must limit travel. In particular, we must make hard decisions about the upcoming holiday season. Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas, among others, are generally family-oriented celebrations held indoors. Being indoors raises the risk of transmission of Covid-19, as does being close enough to someone to break bread with them at the dining room table.
These are hard decisions to face. If it helps, every health care provider in the world is facing the same decisions. Most of my family are back in Arkansas and Texas, including grandparents who I have not seen in over a year and may not see again if I don't visit soon.
But that's a chance I'm willing to take to avoid being the cause of their death by unnecessarily exposing them to this virus.
To come back to the metaphor, I didn't run all of those miles this year, fight this hard, just to get to the 20th mile in this marathon and give up.
I hope you feel the same way and will stay vigilant, safe, and healthy.