As America is starting to encounter the consequences of millions of people ignoring virus guidelines and traveling for the holidays, hospitals are edging ever closer to the cliff edge of crisis care.
Then, as if covid-19 couldn't be any more inconsiderate, the virus mutates. It's becoming easier to spread; as is the nature of viruses, it seeks to infect more and more hosts.
But there's some hope as fears over these mutations detected in the U.K. and South Africa grow: "A new study provides early evidence that a covid-19 vaccine might be effective against two new coronavirus strains first identified in South Africa and the UK, despite a concerning mutation.
"In research posted online [last week], scientists found that antibodies from people who had received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine showed 'no reduction in neutralization activity' against a version of the virus that carries the N501Y mutation, which they created in the lab," CNN reports.
The vaccine does what it's intended to do and stops the virus at the door in most instances.
This latest data is good news considering the mutations have already been detected in Colorado and California. In California particularly, hospitals are at a breaking point, and the Golden State doesn't need an even more infectious version of the virus driving up numbers at a record pace.
The vaccine rollout here is slower than we'd like, but Gov. Asa Hutchinson has promised it'll get better in the days to come.
When it's your turn to roll up your sleeve, we'd recommend doing so.
Better to have a headache or sore arm for a day or two than to die alone in a hospital room, saying goodbye to your family via video chat on an iPad.