We Need To Care A Little More

Almost 52,000 people have died of Covid19 in Canada to date that we know of. Most of these people have been older people and those with existing health problems. Younger people and middle aged people have also died but in general most who were vaccinated did not end up in a hospital or succumb to this terrible virus.

The problem is that Covid19 is still circulating and making people sick. Testing does not seem to be picking up the virus all the time and this is resulting in people thinking ‘they just have a cold or flu,’ which is often not the case. The bigger problem is that we all were gathering together this winter thinking and hoping the pandemic is very much over. Elders and people with health problems are among those gathering and that has not been good for many of them. So many Elders people with health issues have been getting sick, ending up in the hospital and some passing away.

You would think that after three years of going through this pandemic and learning so much about disease and vaccines we would have figured out that the virus will be around for some time and change into many variants along the way. We know by now that younger people and those in good health are not dying or being hospitalized with Covid19 but we also know that our grandparents, older friends and those with health issues can get very very sick and die. Why is it that we all seem to have forgotten that to a great degree and we are not being careful to protect these vulnerable groups of people? Why are we continuing and have done so all winter in gathering these vulnerable people for events with out thinking about how dangerous this could be? The reality is that things are not back to normal and Covid19 is still around. The data shows it is less prevalent and less serious than before but still that can endanger Elders and people in poor health.

Even in the good old days before this pandemic we have seen that the annual flu killed between 3,000 and 4,000 people that we know of every year in Canada and of course most of these were Elders and people with health problems. At this point I think most of us realize that our society does not have enough respect and appreciation for older people. We tend to marginalize them to a great degree and push them into private old age homes that in some cases have not been good experiences. These people have built our society, they have raised all families and are the reason we are here so how is it making any sense to expose them to viruses that can make them really sick or die? We know that any kind of virus or sickness can be easily transmitted to this vulnerable population but we just don’t get it. We are not doing our best to protect them

We are getting a lot more data now on how Covid19 affected us and how the vaccinations performed. There are so many people with long Covid and all kinds of health issues including autoimmune disease, heart problems, lung problems, clotting and other issues. We are learning more and more about what we have been through for the past 3 years. However, the biggest thing we should have learned is that mostly Elders and people who have health problems are the ones most affected by Covid and all kinds of transmittable disease. Why on earth is that not important enough to remember? We could have these wonderful Elders and vulnerable people in our lives for many more years. We could benefit from their experience, their stories and the kindness and love they bring to our world.

Covid is still around and not long ago hospitals and old age homes in my part of Ontario had outbreaks. We know it is around and there is no doubt about that. Hopefully, with spring here now and summer on the way this pandemic will be less threatening and we can gather more safely in the outdoors and not be cooped up inside. We all need the freedom to move around, meet up with family and friends and enjoy being out and about. However, we still have to remember that Elders and vulnerable sections of our society are still in danger of picking up a virus and getting very sick and possibly passing away. So, if you have Covid in any form, a flu, a cold or some kinds of sickness is it too much to ask for us to protect our grandfathers, grandmothers and people who are vulnerable? I think this is very easy to do as all we have to do is care a little more.

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