ABSTRACT
The second pandemic wave flooded Italy and Europe. There are many reasons to be concerned but, as health care workers, we want to emphasize something particular. We reacted with enormous sacrifices during the first pandemic wave, despite the uncertainty, despite the inexperience, despite the structural and managerial inadequacies (partly unavoidable). In the following months the overwhelming wave turned into a slow but continuous dripping, we had to deal with. The World Health Organization (WHO) introduced the term "pandemic fatigue" to indicate the widespread feeling of distress in the entire population as a reaction to a prolonged state of crisis whose end cannot be foreseen. Health workers are no stranger to the general population, although they perceive the world from a particular standpoint. The first concern is that doctors and nurses might not be able to make up for the flaws (largely avoidable at this point) of the health care system in case of further waves. Because the strengths are breaking down and because public support, crucial in previous months, is waning. The second concern relates to the discomfort that could affect a large part of health care workers. A state of discontent and anger never seen before between doctors and nurses is spreading all around us. The fear that "pandemic fatigue" will turn into "pandemic consumption" is real and alarming.