Hug Again!

When social distancing ends, I plan to hug again. I’ll shake hands too, and don’t plan on wearing a mask. Why?

In order to beat Covid, we need herd immunity. Does this mean all this social distancing was for no reason? Nope, social distancing and wearing masks today is not an attempt to stop herd immunity, just slow it down (see my last post: Social Distance for More Better Care).

Social distancing has a purpose. It is to slow down a virus for which there’s no vaccine and for which herd immunity does not yet exist. It is to avoid overwhelming a healthcare system that cannot handle a year of capacity in two months.

Hugging also has a purpose. In addition to making a meaningful connection between beings (I say beings because animals hug too!), hugging improves our immune system. Passing germs is the only way to gain herd immunity.

Indeed! We need both! Social distancing AND hugging.

Two years ago before we ever heard of a Covid, did I social distance AND hug. Yes! Of course, we have all likely chosen to socially distance in the past.

Two years ago, What if I had come into contact with someone who had the flu? What if I wasn’t showing symptoms? I would have held off on visiting my immunocompromised mother for a couple of weeks.

Social distancing has always been smart when wanting to avoid spread of an illness to an at risk population. There’s other times that it makes sense too. Stay home when you’re sick so as to not infect the whole office or school. If an athlete manages to get his whole team sick at the same time, it could wreck the season.

Social distance so that the whole team doesn’t get sick at the same time. AKA – Flatten the Curve. If a team flattens the curve, the odds of any one player getting sick doesn’t change, but they won’t all get it at the same time. Flatten the curve and Win.

Otherwise, HUG.

Health & Happiness for All
Andrew