It’s Viral

I had to make two health related decisions earlier this month. One involved the flu shot. The other, a third Covid vaccination.

May I say up front I have never cared for being sick with the flu. And I have no interest in being invaded by those ugly appearing spikey Covid thingies. They put the fear of God into millions already.

You can’t really run from it though. Or hide. The “flu bug” and coronavirus know how to seek. When the big Covid-19 scare of 2020 began, we were scrubbing down everything and putting our Target shopping bags in the garage for two weeks to make sure they were safe. But no more.

We also now seem to believe that social distancing only applies to doctors' offices, hospitals, and a few other rare types of business. Obviously it doesn’t apply to football stadiums on Saturdays and Sundays. Or concerts. Or Trump rallies. (Apparently they still have those.)

I think we do wash our hands more. And sanitizer dispensers can be found most anywhere. Even the smell of sanitizer scares off viruses.

But do the immunizations really work? Joe “I want everyone to have the jab” Biden believes so. Mr. Hold-my-finger-up-to-the-wind” Anthony Fauci is on board. But half of America isn’t sure.

I went ahead and received the flu shot. My wife thinks it’s a waste of time. But for now I said no to the third Covid vaccine. I know I’m an at-risk person.

Risk. You want risk? Get on the Dan Ryan or Stevenson expressways on a Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend. It ain’t pretty.

You know what else is risky? Going to work!! I read an article a while back about workplace warriors who show up and share their germs. The New York Times reported that, “Charles P. Gerba, a University of Arizona microbiologist, placed a (harmless) tracer virus on the front-door handle of an 80-person office. Within four hours, he found the virus on more than half the workers’ hands and more than half the common surfaces.”

Gerba claims the presence of hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes in key public areas in the workplace reduced the number of infected surfaces by 80 percent. Now we’re talkin’!

Have you ever put your kids in school or daycare when they have any or all of those signs of sickness? Plenty of people do. Guilt does not stop them. Covid has made this a much greater concern. Kids are often the super-spreaders.

Here’s something people don’t think about. The workplace diseases not so easily treated. Selfishness. Greed. Lust for power. Corruption. These are sicknesses of the soul and require much deeper attention.

Jesus of Nazareth once said, “Healthy people don't need a doctor, sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” Mark 2:17 (NLT)

Flu-like symptoms may only need bed rest and fluids. The sin virus needs the Master’s touch. For a healthy workplace, I recommend treatments for both.

I’m also on a daily aspirin regimen. This helps me “Bayer one another’s burdens.”

That’s Forward Thinking. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?

For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com