So, beloved old China dominates the headlines, for all the wrong reasons again.
They unscrupulously invade and needle neighbouring countries while the Covid BF.7, or is it BS 7 Omicron variant, invades and needles them.
And one hears, ruthlessly so!!
So, should we get ourselves into a Talumein soup over this friendly, neighbourhood spider-man, spinning a new Covid web around us??
I stick my neck out on this.
Unless it's a completely new virus that has leaked inadvertently from some unregulated Chinese lab, my short answer is
BOLLOCKS TO COVID!!
Let me elaborate, with evidence hiding in plain sight.
1. We have just finished with one of the most spectacular sporting events in modern history:
The World Cup.
Hundreds of thousands just finished gathering, cheek by jowl, in the tiny kingdom of Qatar.
They laughed and drank,
They hugged and wept (that entitled prince Cristiano, more than the rest),
They danced and screamed their lungs out, Unmasked.
And not one reported Covid case.
Not one unwanted virus spotted at the most mind-boggling show on earth (if you discount Cristiano that is).
So, the logic simply simply does not add up.
2. China. The one-party, tyrannical, despotic country that it is (which many of our bhakts would like to emulate), listens to no doctors, dissent, dissertations, debate and indeed basic science.
They jabbed people with substandard local vaccines, refused international help, locked in their citizens mercilessly, and worse yet—they have just 30-40% of their population vaccinated.
The elderly are surviving on vegetable broth, fodder for the crematoriums.
The manic, cloistered convent that China was, suddenly opened and Boom! the otherwise harmless but contagious Omnicrom variant, found a pliant, receptive host to latch on to and play unmitigated havoc.
They were cagey about Wuhan in 2019, and
they put folk in cages after that.
And now, with the cage-locks open, the Covid virus is having the last laugh.
Moral of the story:
Democracy saves lives.
Dictatorships eventually kills those it apparently seeks to protect.
3. India. I disagree with a leadership out to emasculate democracy, but a concerted effort by both government and the vaccine institutes, particularly Poonawala, to give us tested and tried world-class vaccines, is what saved our over-pampered backsides.
Except for the second wave, which was a complete carnage in mid-2021, all other waves have been hugely manageable, thanks to a phenomenal 80% coverage and significant herd immunity.
So even if BF.7 comes visiting , just say “atithi devo bhava” and let it get on its way.
No harm done.
We are fully equipped, I believe, to swat this fly on the wall.
Some caution, I presume, for the elderly, but no panic and certainly no disruption to our life and economy.
Covid is just another Akshay Kumar movie now:
Not to be taken seriously!!
4. The World.
Trust me, with those levels of mRNA vaccines having navigated all the waves successfully, Covid is the last thing on Western minds.
They have Zelensky and Ukraine to worry about.
They have Biden's dementia to handle.
Rishi Sunak has probably to borrow from his father-in-law’s company to save the UK economy from collapse.
Vlad the Vampire is still drinking blood.
And will Cristiano Ronaldo, now club-less and country-less, have to opt for Goa F.C. for survival??
With so many crises, Covid is like a piece of broccoli on the dinner plate of the West today.
Tasteless, unpalatable and completely unimportant.
So yes, this little shing-a-ding-ling about Covid in China will roll along for a few days, their information will be completely sketchy and fake, we may get a mild uptick but completely manageable and we should certainly look towards the future and not that terrifying, claustrophobic Era of the Past, decorated with N 95 masks and those ghastly PPE kits.
POSTCSCRIPT
Most of us docs, and certainly me, are NOT repeat NOT taking any further booster doses.
We have seen far too many heart attacks, strokes and pulmonary embolisms following boosters, for us to be comfortable with them any longer.
And its benefit now, considering it was devised for the Delta strain, is tangential at best.
After that scintillating World Cup final, which Alan Shearer, ex-English captain, so brilliantly described as "The Greatest Game's Greatest Game", one thought sprung to mind.
We all wanted Messi to win, without a doubt, but the gentleman who transformed that game into the realm of Greatness was not Messi.
With Messi, it would have ended as a drab 2-0 drab final.
It was Mbappe, with his stunning comebacks, who took us on a wild roller-coaster ride and elevated the finals to what it was.
So yes the Supreme Leader wins in a democracy.
But the opponent must also be allowed to play his game, unhindered.
And the referee must always be neutral.
So the Bharat Jodo Yatra absolutely must be allowed to go on, unless Rahul is planning to trudge on to Beijing.
Because Democracy, unlike football, is an even Bigger, more Beautiful and Greater Game!!