Closing for January of 2022

In the paramount interest of safety, I’ve made the decision NOT to practice at least during the month of January, and possibly into February.   Ohio is already one of the places where the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is rampant, and holiday visits are probably going to result in a Covid surge in the upcoming weeks.  Right now, there are over 189,000 new cases being reported in the United States each day, and who knows how many are not being reported.  While all of my clients are vaccinated and most are boosted, each of us could become unwitting carriers of this strand of the virus that could kill someone with whom we come in contact who is not/cannot be vaccinated.  We’ve all seen various people during the holidays, and I have a pregnant daughter whom I need to help move in the next couple weeks.   I won't risk harm to her and my grandbaby, just as I won't risk harming you and yours.
 
My next door neighbor, whom I saw from a distance outside while walking the dog a few days ago, reported that she had Covid, which surprised her because “I’ve had much worse colds!”  Omicron can be so mild for those of us who’ve been vaccinated that we can think we just had a bit of a scratchy throat and congestion, which, honestly, I’d think was due to eating something during this season that I was reacting to, which commonly happens for those with food sensitivities.   Despite lesser symptoms that may occur for some, it’s not clear what the long-term effects will be even so.  And we know that some people, even those who’ve been vaccinated and boosted, including those who’ve had COVID, can get a serious case of another variant.  There is still too much we don’t know about this mysterious new disease that affects different people in seemingly random ways to take risks.  
 
So in the interest of public health, I’m not doing massage in January.   I’ll be contacting you to reschedule in February.   In the meantime, here’s a reminder of what we do know that works to mitigate the disease, something we’ve been hearing over and over, but with some updates:

• ​Get a booster for you and your eligible family asap, if you haven’t already.   While some have been waiting for the possibility of a newer, upgraded vaccine, availability is at least months away.  If there’s a wildfire coming at you, you don’t wait for a helicopter that may be days away when you have a fire extinguisher available to you now.  Even with boosters, the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are only about 80-85% effective against the omicron variant. If you got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, it’s recommended that you get an mRNA booster (either Pfizer or Moderna).  Even if you’ve had Covid before, people are getting it again with the omicron variant.     What’s more, if you do get Covid, there is a shortage of antiviral treatments available at this timeto help you avoid hospitalization.    And we all know that hospital workers are beyond exhausted and in short supply.  In short, get a booster and take care!  
• Wear a good mask in public.  Our cloth masks now need to be upgraded to N95 equivalents.  And they need to cover both our nose and mouth.  
• Stay at least 6’ from others—12’ is actually safer if you look at microdroplet experiments.
• Wash your hands often and well.   Rather than singing “Happy Birthday” twice, as recommended, I try to learn the lyrics to a new hymn or song to help me wash them long enough.  When soap and water are not available, especially after touching germy objects in public use,use hand sanitizer.  Don’t forget to wipe down your purse, cell phone, and wallet daily, too.   And here are the germiest places in our homeswe can overlook in our cleaning protocols.            
• Cough or sneeze into a tissue or your elbow instead of your hand.
• Don’t touch your face with your hands.
• Limit your public exposure.  Now is not the time for a mosh-pit rock concert (if those are even done anymore, but you get the idea).  And be careful of personal contacts.   Omicron is four times more highly contagious than the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, with each person likely to infect 3-5 other people, usually unknowingly.  One person with the omicron variant in a household means that the whole household will end up sick with Covid.   

 
Thank you for the personal sacrifices you’re making to keep others safe.  Meanwhile, you can find some tips for self-care during this month by clicking on the Self-Care category to the right on this blog, and here’s a pelvis reset that you can do on your own.

If you need to see another massage therapist, consider Medical Massage Associates.  Avoid massage chains because of the number of people they serve.   While there are good therapists there, it's just not as safe a setting, and the turnaround time can be a problem.
 
So until I see you again, stay safe and keep on your healing path.  Just lying down and breathing deeply for 15 minutes can relax your muscles.  And here are some guided meditations that you might find helpful.   I look forward to meeting you there soon in the new year.