We have been living with COVID-19 for close to two years. Now people seem to behave as if they have been living naturally with the virus since their birth. Some people even believe that we will live with COVID-19 for the rest of our lives, whereas some people are confident that we can beat it. It was noticeable that when a lot of countries began to immunize their citizens, other countries were not able to purchase doses of COVID-19 vaccines. As of mid-February, it was reported that 130 countries had not been able to begin vaccinating their citizens.

By September 24, South Korea’s first-shot vaccination rate exceeded 70%. This can be considered significant progress as only 50% of people had been vaccinated in August. It demonstrates that the number of Koreans vaccinated with at least one dose of a vaccine is growing day by day. However, only a few months ago, people needed to change or delay the date for their second shot as there was insufficient supply to meet the demand. As a result, people had to wait 6 weeks instead of the 4 weeks recommended by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). But now reserving a leftover vaccine is simple. How is this possible?

Lee Kang-ho, the director-general for the global vaccine hub committee under South Korea’s health ministry, said, “There are only a few mRNA vaccine developers: Pfizer, Moderna, CureVac, and BioNTech. Thus, there is a limit to how much they can produce to meet global demand. South Korea is keen to help by offering its facilities to produce them.” Amazingly, South Korea has already locally produced three coronavirus vaccines made by AstraZeneca and Novavax. Also, it is set to offer 1 billion doses of the vaccine including Pfizer and Moderna to people living in South Korea. As a result of this effort, people can now easily make vaccine reservations online. Now it does not matter whether someone is reserving a first or second shot.

President Moon Jae-in has indicated that South Korea will shortly have the highest vaccination rate in the world. He also said that our life would return to pre-pandemic levels if people continue to abide by social-distancing measures. Furthermore, Moon stressed the “living with Covid” scheme. “With Covid” is a neologism meaning to co-exist with COVID-19 rather than to expect its complete eradication. More specifically, changing the negative perception of the virus and establishing new social-distancing guidelines are the ways to live “with Covid.” This scheme has been introduced as people running their own stores or companies, for example, started to argue that they could not cope with life any longer.

After the Chuseok holiday, the government was concerned about a possible explosion of confirmed cases. Indeed, the holiday seemed to trigger an uptick in cases since more than 3,000 people tested positive for COVID-19 immediately afterwards. To make matters worse, the number of confirmed cases started increasing every day. However, the government remained steadfast in implementing its “with COVID” campaign. It is important to know that this does not mean easing all of the social-distancing rules.

In the case of college and university students, they are expected to prepare for more face-to-face classes. Even though “lecture-based lessons” are likely to continue on zoom for the time being, subjects that require hands-on activities such as student teaching are likely to be in-person. As the pandemic is a global unprecedented crisis, it is understandable why a lot of people are still reluctant to consent to face-to-face lessons. However, many countries have decided to coexist with the virus. In America, for instance, Harvard University announced that face-to-face classes would recommence during the fall semester.

Lastly, I really hope that everything returns to normal as soon as possible. To make this a reality, we should keep following social-distancing guidelines: wearing face masks, washing hands after going out, etc. After getting vaccinated, you should also take care. For instance, you can apply a cool, wet cloth over your arm for at least 3 hours following the shot. If you experience side effects, and the symptoms last longer than 2-3 days, you should seek immediate medical attention. Some people may think getting a shot is stressful and dangerous, but we should remember that the vaccination not only protects us from COVID-19 but also our close family, friends, and others dear to us.

저작권자 © 충대신문 무단전재 및 재배포 금지