Grappling with the reality of an ongoing pandemic
Janice Brown: “Nearly five times as many Nova Scotians have died of COVID so far in 2022 as in 2020 and 2021 combined.” Contributed photoJanice Brown is a retired lawyer who worked as a solicitor, senior policy analyst and cabinet adviser with the Nova Scotia government. She is a member of the COVID action group Protect our Province N.S. Twitter: @PoP_NovaScotia
The reality is the pandemic isn’t over. In fact, it’s worse than ever. Nearly five times as many Nova Scotians have died of COVID so far in 2022 as in 2020 and 2021 combined. I’ve had four doses of vaccine, so I’m not especially concerned that I’d be hospitalized or would die from COVID if I became infected. What I am concerned about is the risk of ending up with some form of long COVID.
You’d think more people would be concerned about a one in seven chance of falling ill for three-plus months, or the growing evidence that reinfections increase the likelihood of a bad outcome, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, presumably because long COVID is almost never mentioned by political or health leaders.Another challenge is that far too many still don’t understand just how varied the damage from COVID can be. It isn’t just a respiratory disease that affects our lungs.
It’s hard not to feel frustrated and angry with people who refuse to even acknowledge the pandemic is ongoing, but it helps to remember that, nearly three years into it, many Canadians are suffering from some combination of fear, grief, anger, guilt, illness and loneliness — acknowledged or not. We can’t expect people — politicians included — to be the best versions of themselves when they’re carrying so much pain.
We need to mask in essential public places to make it safer for vulnerable folks to access the goods and services they need, while reducing transmissions. We need to stay home when we’re sick and support others so they can, too. We need to keep flu and COVID vaccinations up to date.
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