I have written before that I like to open and drink part of a can of caffeine free diet coke in the evening because it feels good on my throat. Ever since Covid, however, I never know if and when it will be available. Right now, it isn't – once again! It has been a recurring off-and-on pattern since the onset. First world problems, eh? (Blogger spellcheck doesn't like Covid but will not suggest COVID as an alternative. Go figure.)
The Decaf Coke Free version is always available, but I don't care for it. In desperation, I have being trying Decaf Diet Pepsi. It's not bad: maybe not as much to my liking as the Coke version, but better than Coke Zero. This is shocking; I know.
You just never know what will be missing from the grocery store shelves. Last outing I couldn't find my granola bars. For two consecutive weeks my granola cereal has been AWOL. They are both Quaker products. Other cereals and crackers have sometimes been MIA too. At times I have gone without oatmeal and jam, and other items too, but I my age you really can't expect me to remember everything.
Then, there are Lays potato chips. It is not a shortage as such, but I can't buy them at my grocery store, which is part of the largest chain in the province. There is some sort of dispute about pricing between grocery chain and Lays, and we are left with empty shelves. While I am able to purchase Lays products elsewhere, it does require an extra trip. I know, I know – cry me a river.
It's not just grocery items. Shauna's workplace has been looking to purchase a new printer. There is nothing available. Nada. Zip. I also need a new printer; my semi-large format photo printer has been laying down smudges for some time now. I checked the Canon Canada website and discovered that there wasn't a single printer of any kind, not just photo quality printers, available at any price point except for a few very expensive models. Very expensive.
Shauna is the GM at a senior's residence in a nearby town. I don't know what it's like in the city, but she has great trouble staffing her home. One worker in the health care part of the operation has to be paid a higher wage than my daughter, the director, in order to keep them on staff.
I am not sure how the current 6th wave is affecting her, but I know it is having an affect elsewhere. Both teachers and students are absent in larger numbers than ever before.Shauna did post this on FB in response to an article about the 6th wave in our province
It's come to "crossing fingers" that this will all turn out okay.
It has become apparent that the Ford government has thrown up its hands and has resigned itself to everyone getting it eventually. As far as strains go, this is the one to get. And maybe, just maybe, this will be the last big hurrah of Covid.
But.
Here's the thing that the average person may not understand about this surge. Hospitals, LTC, and other care facilities will not have the staff and resources to take care of their patients/residents. And it's not even a question of patients getting or recovering from Covid. With the wildfire spread of this, there are not going to be people to make food, to empty garbages, to give medications, to sanitize etc.
That is where the real problem lies with this.
The same is happening here. While people are not being hospitalized in great numbers, staff are out sick and replacements are few and far between. The shortage of teachers has been a problem. Eventually everyone will have had Covid. My husband and I are doing our best to avoid it still.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very interesting post from Shauna & somewhat scary!
ReplyDeleteDoug is not my friend as a friend would never put me in the path of harm's way intentionally.
So scary. We are getting our second booster on Monday.
ReplyDeleteYes, the support staff issue is very real. We're all getting an education into the invisible forces abd people enabling almost everything we do.
ReplyDeleteI don't read about staff shortages here in Hawaii. I tried Coke Zero and don't like it, as it is too syrupy. I prefer Diet Coke.
ReplyDeleteIt's is interesting to understand about shortages. It's beyond me how CEOs and big business can earn millions, and yet begrudge anyone else earning a fair dime.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about Shauna. We had our 2nd boosters there yesterday. This was the very problem they had in the beginning of COVID: staffing. Jos' school's absences are running 20%, Izzy's only 11%. I hope we get a handle on this soon.
That's where it is now in our nursing homes. We can get printers but not microwaves. and they say the big crush i not on the east coast not the west.
ReplyDeleteI read that European airlines who have dropped their mask mandates are now having large numbers of crew sick and are unable to fly their routes. Lots of cancellations. The same will happen here in every industry. Very short sighted. I continue to mask and got my 2nd booster a few days ago. Shauna must be under an incredible amount of stress. :(
ReplyDeleteI too got my second booster a couple of days ago and still wear masks whenever I'm inside any establishment with other people in there. In a week they will remove the mandate to mask on buses and airports here, but you'll still see me wearing mine!
ReplyDeleteYes, besides the usual focus on hospitalizations and deaths (which are down) there are a LOT of other considerations and effects of Covid. Shortages of supplies and humans are not always talked about. Enjoy your Pepsi--lol! ;)
ReplyDeleteThis sixth wave is being swept under the rug pretty much in the US. It worries me, even with indications it will be “relatively” mild. I do not wish to become “relatively” sick with Covid.
ReplyDeleteI tend to prefer Pepsi to Coke products. I too, drink the diet/sugar free varieties. Truth be told, however, we end up buying the pop (soda) we buy mainly in the store brand (in our case, Kroger) and not Pepsi or Coke because it is much cheaper.
Much more to my liking than cola is diet Dr. Pepper (or in our store brand, diet Dr. K).
PipeTobacco
Shauna is quite right.
ReplyDeleteDoug Ford is a vile, repugnant, small minded cretin whose political career should have ended with his disaster as a one term city councillor. That was enough proof of his ineptness. Instead the Ontario Tories let him waltz in and turn the party into his personality cult.
If Doug Ford was on fire and I had a glass of water, I'd drink it.
You cover a lot of territory today. Usually if a product is missing we think that it will be on the shelf in a week. That's not what's happening now. Cornflakes and rice krispies have been missing for 6 mo. to a year.
ReplyDeleteSame with PSWs that I depend on. As of Sunday we will have had no evening PSW help for 6 days in a row!
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. We see plenty of DCCF, as I call it, and I should know because I buy a LOT of it. All during the big Covid waves, we never had shortages of Coke (or other soda) products. In fact, apart from the initial covid hoard-buying, I haven't seen shortages of much of anything on any regular basis. Maybe I just buy weird stuff no one wants...
ReplyDelete