Something about flying pigs, I think
How worried should we be? For months now, the word at the office is that we’re on the cusp of a pandemic. Yes, the one involving sore throats and pigs. Country Joe is providing theme music: the “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag“.
Of course, I’m not going to get sick, but if I do, it’s going to be much worse at my house. Just because. You see, I intend to get vaccinated. The worry-warts are sure that the prevention is worse than the cure (there is a cure, right?). I plan to stand, tall and proud, while the front line health worker injects something magical into my arm, and I will have no need to fear those flying pigs.
Back to the worry-warts. There is a fringe layer of the population that believes vaccination is an invitation to disaster, or worse, a plot by multinationals to get rich on our feverish backs. Word to the wise: the multinationals are already rich, and pandemics aren’t fun. If you, and all your coworkers are home, feeling shitty, then your business isn’t going to show a sudden burst of productivity.
I work in the public sector (even if I rarely see the public), and we’re not particularly prepared. Lots of hand spritzers and a few PowerPoint presentations aren’t going to go far if half the office is sick and the other half is waiting its turn. Some things just aren’t going to get done “on time”. From a budget perspective, there isn’t extra money to either pay replacement workers or quarantine payroll.
This may be a very long winter, and the snow hasn’t started.
