The pandemic is not over. 

Last week, with the news of the Delta variant ripping through the United States, I had to rethink my expectations for the next few months. I want to be less stressed about finding work. I want to travel again. I want to attend social functions again. I want to hug and kiss friends and family again, without the side of massive anxiety about the potential of catching or spreading the virus. 

But, the pandemic is not over. 

The pandemic is not over, and now, many people, children, and adults are challenged with the effects of long COVID, without many treatment options in the healthcare system in the United States. 

The transformation of Wendall Potter, written about, last week, on Let’s Rethink This, is a story of one man looking at the work he had been doing, realized the harm he perpetuated through the abusive billing practices of the insurance industry, and is now committed to making systemic changes, beginning with his testimony to Congress. I recommend you take a look if you have not yet read his story. We hope to inspire many more with our coverage.

The pandemic is not over, and people are hanging on by frayed threads, hoping for rental assistance, stalled by draconian processes in state governments, with the likelihood of billions of dollars disappearing, growing more real, every day. The business of government is failing the people, during a pandemic, and it seems to be by design. We have to rethink how we demand what we need to achieve, together.

Demanding a healthcare system for the many, not the few, is imperative. The Impact Physicians family on Let’s Rethink This is one place to understand, from the perspective of medical professionals, why we must meet the challenge of bringing healthcare to all, with transformative rethinking. 

A solid healthcare system, relied upon, by the people, will break through vaccine hesitancy faster than any mandate or law. The collaborative effort, to release healthcare from the death grip of corporations, assisting our neighbors and communities in finding needed health solutions, will be as lush as any fertile victory garden. 

Shutdowns are happening, because the pandemic is not over. 

People are unable to pay rent, living in their cars (if they have one), largely without day to day healthcare, being abused in their jobs (if they have one), and hungry for both food and human touch. Rethinking the future is a herculean task in light of all else we are collectively dealing with, presently. I see you. I know you want to build a better future. The pandemic will eventually end, and we will enter into the years of repair.

In solidarity and hope - priscilla, Editor-in-Chief of Our Newspaper at Let’s Rethink This