Most of us are tired of thinking about the pandemic. It’s ceased to be interesting news. It’s become fertile ground for politicians who increasingly seem to need a soapbox to stand on and shout from to attract votes. The more they shout, the less interesting it seems.

Even reports of over a thousand deaths each day or 800,000 cumulative deaths in the U.S. don’t seem to land with much emotional impact. The news images of overcrowded hospitals and emergency rooms staffed by exhausted health care workers don’t seem that alarming. Nor do the dying patients, who once staunchly refused vaccination and now, breathlessly on their deathbed, say they wish they had. We’ll muddle on. Just don’t take away my right to refuse.

Where I travel in Westmoreland County, most people don’t wear masks. Venues hosting large crowds continue to advertise and conduct events. While the booster seems truly to boost immunity, there’s not been a rush of uptake. Westmoreland County’s overall vaccination rate is low compared to Pennsylvania and the nation as a whole. Many still refuse to be vaccinated, twisting the argument to one against mandates.

So I’ve struggled to think of what might be compelling enough to alter people’s behavior and local leaders’ relative silence.

About 14 months ago, the Trib published a commentary I wrote labeling failure to socially distance or wear a mask as “anonymous homicide.” I ended the piece with a hopeful idea that this all would be past us in a few months once vaccines were rolled out. That turned out to be much too optimistic. Though the vaccines have been developed at an amazing speed, proven highly successful in preventing hospitalizations and deaths, and shown to be remarkably safe, they haven’t been as potent in preventing mild infections that can be passed on to others.

Scientists were aware that viruses are excellent at mutating to more infectious forms. But we didn’t imagine how likely this was. You might say “duh” here if you understood how many viruses have a shot at mutating. If you multiply the number of viruses in one infected person by the cumulative total of the world’s population that have been infected, you get a very big number — about 1 followed by 18 zeros. (You might quibble at my math and argue the denominator should only include the total infections since the newest variant, but the opportunity for another variant will still remain near certainty.) The chance of winning the Powerball are low for one person. But the chance of at least one person winning are almost guaranteed if enough tickets are sold.

So, our region, the nation and the world are at a similar place as a year ago: anticipating a dark winter. We know much, much more now than we did then. We know that about 40% of those infected never have symptoms. This means many of us wander around exhaling virus that will infect others, especially if we refuse to wear an appropriate mask and attend events with many people in poorly ventilated areas.

Those who choose not to receive the vaccine and forego any masking are committing a form of “reckless” endangerment, a criminal offense in Pennsylvania. These folks will never be charged because it isn’t easily proven who they injured beyond themselves. It’s a bit like rear-end collisions on Route 28 during rush hour. The person in front, texting while driving, is a little late in braking but stops in time. The chain reaction follows. Ten cars back, even the most vigilant driver can’t avoid slamming into the car ahead. The driver who started it all may hear a soft “thump” in the distance but drives on with their fingers still on their phone’s keyboard. The driver in back gets life-flighted to an ICU bed, assuming one is available.

Finally, we need to remember that the number of new cases released each day by the universities or government and reported by the press is a week or two behind what’s actually happening. Every new case has an incubation period of about five days followed by time for symptoms to become worrisome enough for the person to seek testing followed by time for test results to be reported. Right now, a tsunami of cases from the omicron variant is probably here or very fast approaching.

I implore local business owners, employers of any sort, government officials, politicians, religious leaders, anyone who has trusting followers, to take responsible steps now. Tell those you lead to wear a mask and get vaccinated, including the booster. Consider limiting or postponing events with large numbers of attendees. If you must conduct the event, strongly encourage masking and distancing and ensure ventilation is as good as you can make it.

It may sound dull. But it will save lives. And at the individual level, don’t commit reckless endangerment. Voluntarily do the right thing.

David Macpherson, M.D., is a retired physician living in Upper Burrell.

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