COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on the world as we know it.
I could never have imagined a world in which people would have to show proof of vaccination to eat in a restaurant. That in itself is fairly shocking, given our glorious lives of just two short years ago.
But even more mind-boggling is the idea that people who don’t want to get vaccinated would protest against the vaccine passports in front of hospitals. The very same hospitals where those folks would be treated if they became sick with COVID. The very same hospitals where those folks would go if they broke their leg, if their grandmother needed cancer treatment or if their child needed stitches.
Dr. Gabor Mate told the CBC that the protests are rooted in distrust, and I agree. I understand the desire to choose what happens with our own bodies and I, too, am skeptical that we’ve moved to fast to approve the COVID-19 vaccines, without full understanding of the side effects or long-term consequences.
But I also understand that without these vaccines, millions could die from COVID-19. Millions more could suffer from long-COVID, the long-term effects of which we know very little about so far. Millions and millions more could die from not being able to access healthcare, because the entire system would be overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, fighting for their lives.
This pandemic sucks and we all know it. We all dearly wish it was over and life – our sublime, free, healthy life – could go back to the normal we all knew and loved. But COVID-19 is far from over. It’s just getting started showing us its tricks – how it can morph into something even more contagious and possibly more dangerous, thanks to the millions of human hosts that are not immune. We can’t let it mutate any further. And that means more people must get vaccinated. It also likely means more vaccines or booster shots for the rest of us too.
As much as we don’t like it, we have to do it for the sake of those who can’t, including children younger than 12.
In B.C. this week, health minister Adrian Dix revealed on Twitter that a newborn baby and a child between the ages of 10 and 12 were in critical care with COVID-19.
Schools returned after Labour Day and children under 12 are not eligible to be vaccinated. The rate of spread of COVID-19 in schools has always been linked with the rate of spread in the community, which is high right now, but yet schools are back and kids younger than Grade 4 don’t have to wear masks.
B.C. Teachers’ Federation President Teri Mooring said there is a cloud hanging over schools.
“The reality of this school year is that there will be less protections in place than there were last year,” Mooring said. “No cohorts, no physical distancing, no daytime custodians, no exposure notifications, no limits to school visitors, and no provincial limits on school gatherings.”
Mooring was speaking on Labour Day, asking the government to expand the mask mandate to include all school children, to improve and report on ventilation in schools and to provide asymptomatic testing in schools as a monitor.
“The rationale that because kids that get COVID don’t end up in hospital, I think is cold comfort for a family who doesn’t want their child sick at all,” Mooring said.
I can’t wrap my head around the logic that says you need a vaccine to go to the gym, but a roomful of unvaccinated seven year olds don’t need to wear masks.
Another concern is how COVID-19 exposures will be reported in schools. It was the day before school started and Mooring didn’t know how or if exposures would be reported.
“By limiting information, I would say you’re going to cause more stress and anxiety,” Mooring said.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry had earlier said that outbreaks in schools would be reported, but that exposure notices only served to increase anxiety.
So far, I haven’t heard of any official provincial school COVID-19 exposure reports, but a group of parents have formed the BC School Covid Tracker, which reported 62 exposures in the first week of school. How can people make informed decisions about the safety of their children if they don’t have any information to go by? They can’t. And in this era of a lack of trust in our leaders (see protests above), they won’t.
Protecting our children is our mission as human beings. Without them we are meaningless. Let’s remember that.
Tracy Sherlock is a freelance journalist who writes about education and social issues. Read her blog bcedmatters.com or email her tracy.sherlock@gmail.com.
