Just in time for the U.S. to approach the horrific milestone of 1 million dead from COVID, states are dropping mask and vaccine mandates. In doing so, they’re asking us to normalize death, ignore the vulnerable, and refuse to learn from our previous mistakes.
Two years ago, The New York Times described 100,000 American deaths as “incalculable,” but it seems some Americans now see 1 million dead as an inconvenience that shouldn’t deter them from living their best lives without concern for many of their neighbors who remain at significant risk. Sadly, many of these deaths were avoidable if we had all just embraced basic safety precautions like vaccine mandates, masks, and social distancing.
According to the recent CDC guidelines recommending the easing of restrictions, one could be fooled into thinking that the pandemic is over and we can return to normal activities. Earlier this week, Hawaii was the last state to announce that it's dropping masking requirements by March 25.
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Residents in major cities like New York and Los Angeles are now no longer required to wear masks at restaurants, bars, gyms, and other businesses even though COVID is an airborne virus that is still infecting thousands of Americans and killing over 1,000 people a day, and only about two-thirds of Americans are fully vaccinated—with less than half that group receiving the booster. The Los Angeles City Council is considering following suit and lifting its requirement, as well, because it has a highly vaccinated population, and because COVID cases and hospitalizations in the U.S. have been falling by double-digit percentages.
However, there are still breakthrough cases, and recent reports reveal that even with “mild” COVID there is a risk of long-term brain and heart damage. Children under age 5 still can’t be vaccinated, and the elderly and immuno-compromised remain at high risk of infection. When you add the adults who choose to remain unvaccinated, the total includes millions of our fellow Americans who remain susceptible to sickness, hospitalization, and death.
As I have previously written, this is personal for me because I have a 5-year-old immuno-suppressed daughter who is a Stage 4 cancer survivor. She has taken three vaccine shots. We were waiting for her to build antibodies but, unfortunately, we found a few days ago that she has yet to produce any.
Trust me, I understand those who say we’re “tired” and “over” COVID. Only a masochist or sociopath would want the world to live a “forever COVID” existence. Like most parents of young children, we are beyond exhausted and our lives have been disrupted by this once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. Still, we wear masks in indoor settings, social distance when necessary, and we are all vaccinated, except for our 2-year-old daughter. We undertake these relatively simple protections to not only protect and save ourselves —especially our daughter—but also others who might be vulnerable. Furthermore, a recent CDC study of masking mandates in Arkansas showed wearing masks reduces transmission rates, especially in schools.
It’s literally the least we can do during an ongoing pandemic, but apparently this is still too much for some Americans who complain about inconvenience and restrictions on their freedom.
The reality is that COVID was the third-leading cause of death in America after heart disease and cancer in 2020. The numbers for 2021 are still being calculated, but there’s good reason to believe COVID could move even higher on the list once all the data is in.
Over at The Atlantic, Ed Yong asked, “How did this many deaths become normal?” and listed numerous sobering and tragic statistics detailing this virus’s brutal impact on the working class, the poor, the elderly, and the uninsured:
Elderly people over the age of 75 are 140 times more likely to die than people in their twenties. Among vaccinated people, those who are immunocompromised account for a disproportionate share of severe illness and death. Unvaccinated people are 53 times more likely to die of COVID than vaccinated and boosted people; they’re also more likely to be uninsured, have lower incomes and less education, and face eviction risk and food insecurity. Working-class people were five times more likely to die from COVID than college graduates in 2020, and in California, essential workers continued dying at disproportionately high rates even after vaccines became widely available.
You might be saying to yourself, “Waj, this really sucks for you and your family, but I’m vaccinated and boosted, so this doesn’t concern me. I don’t care.”
You should care. As I’ve written before, even though you might be done with COVID, the pandemic isn’t done with you.
Coinciding with the easing of restrictions, we’re witnessing the rise of the BA.2 Omicron variant which spreads 30 percent faster than BA.1 and is just as severe, according to the World Health Organization. BA.2 was responsible for over 11 percent of coronavirus cases in the U.S. last week. It’s currently contributing to an increase in hospitalizations in the U.K., as well as a major outbreak in Hong Kong.
According to the new CDC guidelines, more than 90 percent of Americans don’t need to wear masks indoors, but some health experts are concerned that dropping protections could actually help BA.2 spread. Although it isn’t matching Omicron’s exponential growth when it first emerged, there is still cause for concern for parents, considering the lagging numbers of vaccinated kids.
We’ve seen this movie before.
Last year, the CDC recommended Americans stop wearing masks during another brief lull in the pandemic. But before “hot vaxx summer” was over, Delta emerged with a new wave of death, and the CDC revised its premature decision. As winter approached, Omicron hit America.
Oftentimes people read my articles about the need for precaution and say I’m behaving like a hysterical and reactionary fool, paralyzed by fear and caution. I apparently need to get on with my life.
Maybe. But in order to do that, we have to first tame a pandemic that doesn’t play by our timeline.
From my perspective, many of my fellow Americans are living in a Groundhog’s Day remake from hell. We’ve already witnessed the pain and death that results from losing our vigilance and basic protections against an ongoing pandemic, but instead of learning from our mistakes and becoming better like Bill Murray’s character, we have collectively chosen to be selfish, arrogant, and far too accepting of mass death.
Let’s hope COVID decides to follow our short-sighted whims for once. If not, we shouldn’t be shocked by a fresh wave of horrors.
