Germany definitely is going through a fourth wave. And so is the rest of Europe. I wonder how that would affect the upcoming winter.
See, every wave has been a different experience, so far. The first wave during March-May 2020 was characterised by immediate lockdowns, deserted streets, and everyone simply being in shock at the fact that something like this hasn't happened before in everyone's recent history. The whole concept of lockdown was new. And when the wave retreated in early summer, people enjoyed the sunshine.
Then the second wave happened in October 2020, extending all through the Christmas holidays. Things were back in lockdown, and the days were dark. The numbers were also more massive compared to the first wave. And somehow it all was just a large blurry period of time, slowly merging into the third wave.
The third wave, however, from a numerical perspective, was distinct from the second wave. There were less deaths. Even though the number of cases were comparabily similar to the second wave, there were definitely less people who ultimately died. The primary reason perhaps is the availability of the vaccines, which were first rolled out to the most vulnerable. And at the end of the third wave, the lockdowns which were first implemented during the start of the second wave slowly went away. The emergency brake that was implemented by the federal government also eventually was phased out.
And then the vaccines became more available to all. And now we're on a fourth wave. I wonder whether there would be lockdowns again. The virus is now affecting a different sector of the population, namely, the children. This is because they have been the last in line to get the vaccines. I am not even sure whether all age groups are already cleared to get a vaccine at this time. Other countries are changing policies, implementing lockdowns for the unvaccinated, e.g. 2G rules, which allow access to public areas only to vaccinated or recovered persons.
I am definitely staying flexible. Anything can happen, so I am not making any concrete plans. Let's see how this goes.
