Headline of the New York Times
05/24/2020 :
U.S. Deaths Near 100,000, An Incalculable Loss.
Headline of the New York Times 02/05/2022 :
900,000 Dead, but Many Americans Move On.
About 60% of deaths in the UK, are those that are considered "high risk" ( COVID: Disabled People Account for 6/10 deaths in the UK ). I imagine stats in the US are similar, so with approximately 60% of COVID deaths being high risk, that means 40% of those deaths are not considered high risk (not obese, no high blood pressure, no substance abuse and many other things that make people high risk with COVID). Of those who've died from COVID a significant amount were otherwise healthy people. Some of those absolutely have undiagnosed illnesses (which is more prevalent in communities of color and those in poverty), but even if 10% of COVID deaths are otherwise healthy individuals, that's massive. People who say we just need to accept this amount of loss as our "new normal" so they can get back to "normal", is appalling to me. How can they be comfortable with accepting this kind of mass death and disabling event as "normal"? Because they don't think it could be them or their loved ones and they don't value the lives they believe it does affect the most. Those who compare it to the flu...do not understand the gravity of this. 40% of those who die from the flu, are not otherwise healthy individuals. 60% of people who get the flu, do not become chronically ill/disabled. This is what socially accepted eugenics is....and this is a steep and slippery slope.
Death is also not the only risk of COVID. Long COVID is a demon in itself that doctors still don’t have enough information on and no one is talking about it enough. About 70 million people in the US have been diagnosed with COVID… more than half have been diagnosed with Long COVID ( Half of COVID Survivors Experience lingering symptoms Six Months After Recovery ).
Biden added Long COVID to the conditions that qualify for disability. That is saying something pretty significant. The government generally isn't in a hurry to expand who can qualify for disability. The disability community constantly try to raise awareness that anyone can become disabled at any point in one's life. If people don’t care about creating a better world for the disabled, would they care if they understood it’s creating a better world for themselves, too? Not only because of Long Covid but because if we are privileged enough to grow old...most will become disabled towards the end.
Vaccines have done a great job protecting against death, but they mainly protect the person vaccinated (but not from long COVID ( Breakthrough Infections Can Lead to Long COVID, New Research Suggests ) ). The research is too new to be peer reviewed but is out of Oxford, so I'm going trust it.
We all also really need to protect workers that will be subjected to people’s germs, constantly…especially those who are high risk. Others' mask protects us, our mask protects others. Vaccinated people who get infected, spread similar viral loads as those who're unvaccinated ( Viral Loads Similar Between Vaccinated and Unvaccinated People ). Why is it "safe" for one group to take their masks off if it's not safe for the other to? (It's not). With the vaccinated still getting & passing COVID...mandating vaccines but not masks is completely asinine. Those vaccinated are more likely to be asymptomatic spreaders, which also means we don't have accurate numbers of how much of the virus is out there. If people don't have symptoms, they're not going to seek testing and those cases aren't going to be included.
It's appalling the amount of vaccinated people that demonize the unvaccinated even if they always mask in public and around those outside their household. They call it the “pandemic of the unvaccinated”, say if we get COVID we don’t deserve to be treated, we deserve to die…because we are putting others at risk by not being vaccinated. The fact that it's mostly coming from people who are not masking because they're "protected" and putting others at much more risk than those who are masking properly (vaccinated or not)...is absolutely ridiculous. Levels of protection vary on type of mask and fit, but science has told us over and over that two way masking is the best way to protect both individuals and get rid of/prevent the virus from mutating…but there are too many anti maskers (vaccinated and unvaccinated) to do that.
Since the mask mandates are being dropped in IL at the end of February, Russ & I have until the then, to get out as much as we can, as safely as we can…because as of March 1st, grocery stores, taking the dogs to the vet, running into a gas station, ordering food…and so much more... won't be safe. I thought they'd drop them in the summer, I didn't expect them to drop it right before flu season, nor do I understand what the hell they are thinking.
People don't care if we are safe in public, if we can see our loved ones, or if we can ever leave the house again or how many people die... if it means they have to wear a piece of cloth over their face. This is ableism, this is socially accepted eugenics and that should scare everyone. If you're paying attention to what's going on with politics, the fact that there is a virus that is disabling even those who are vaccinated against it...should scare you. It's not safe to be disabled right now, in a multitude of ways.
If you don't care to protect others, at least protect yourself. Please keep wearing masks in public and crowded places regardless of vaccination stance. Protect lives, don't risk them...including yours.
