I never thought I would see the day when people say without hesitation that we have to accept certain deaths, because “we have to go back to normal”. Is this the kind of society we want?
Posted at 11:00 a.m.
As an eighth wave of COVID-19 begins, updated precautions are needed to protect everyone, including the most vulnerable, from respiratory illness.
Many see “the vulnerable to COVID-19” as an abstract group and think that these vulnerable are “going to die soon anyway.”
Except it’s wrong. A “comorbidity” can be diabetes or just being overweight!
About 40% of adults and more than 70% of seniors in Quebec have a chronic disease1while 14% of the population has a weakened immune system.
With the risk of long-lasting COVID-19 and sequelae, even a young, healthy person is at great risk with each infection.
I have several rare diseases and became disabled from an infection in 2003. I know what it’s like to get sick and lose everything because your body stops working as it should. I don’t wish that on anyone!
Wearing a mask is nothing compared to losing your abilities and having to change careers…
But maybe you are one of those who believe that the majority should not accommodate a minority.
Update recommendations
Or maybe you think following the recommendations is enough.
Unfortunately, these recommendations have not been updated to reflect the primary mode of transmission of COVID-19. To make me say “we clean the surfaces and everyone wash their hands” is not reassuring, because it means that we do not take airborne transmission into account.
A lack of COVID-19 precautions is discriminatory because it prevents vulnerable people from living in safety. Currently, the risk is so high that even going to the doctor is risky: Public Health indicated on October 12 that 37% of people hospitalized with COVID-19 had caught it in the hospital!
But don’t we also have the right to go shopping or see a show?
Respiratory Disease Precautions Help Everyone, Studies Show2. We can use several of them: the mask, the virtual one, air purifiers, etc.
Many people have had COVID-19 without being seriously ill, but it’s far from just a cold, especially if you have a compromised immune system! A recent study reports that people with primary immune system dysfunction have a 9-18% risk of dying from COVID-19, and a 49% risk of being hospitalized. Would you do an activity that has a one in two chance of putting you in the hospital?
No one can rely on vaccines alone. They are essential and protect against severe disease, but provide little protection against infection…whereas even a mild infection can cause a serious deterioration in the state of health of a vulnerable person.
We must also remember that in an immunocompromised person, vaccines do not always work.
In addition, no treatment is foolproof. Many cannot take advantage of it because of contraindications or simply do not have access to it.
We need better precautions and more education about the fact that COVID-19 spreads through the air so that everyone can participate in society in a safe way. Wearing a mask does not prevent you from doing your activities (it only protects you!), but if no one wears one, it forces people like me to choose between staying at home or risking death.