With vaccine, how soon will we go back to normal?

With vaccine rollout underway, President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to announce a roadmap for lifting Covid-19 restrictions this week, he is under pressure from the business community to fully reopen some sectors of the economy.

The end of the coronavirus pandemic is on the horizon, but the timeline for actually getting there feels like it shifts daily, with updates about viral variants, vaccine logistics, and other important variables seeming to push back the finish line or scoot it forward.

When will we be able to finally live our lives again? We will soon mark one year since Covid-19 was first reported in Kenya. Most Kenyans are having a difficult time remembering what life was like “before corona”.

There is some hope that we won’t be perpetually avoiding people, with events existing primarily on Zoom, and face masks being the norm.

But the million-dollar question everyone is asking about Covid-19 is: When will life return to normal?

Ultimately, a return to normalcy hinges on us reaching herd immunity—the point when enough people are immune to the virus that community spread becomes difficult. A level that will allow society to protect those who can’t be vaccinated.

 

Ndirangu Ngunjiri

Managing partner, Watermark Consultants