As we enter our third calendar year of the pandemic, many say we have much to be hopeful for. 62% of Americans are fully vaccinated, the now-rampant Omicron variant is supposedly less fatal (albeit much, much more contagious) and, as a society, we seem less afraid of COVID-19, with mass events that were unthinkable in March 2020. In an interview on “Good Morning America,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said “the overwhelming number of deaths, over 75%, occurred in people who had at least four comorbidities, so really these are people who were unwell to begin with. And yes, really encouraging news in the context of Omicron…we’re really encouraged by these results.”
That’s great that you feel encouraged. What about the “unwell” people?
As a disabled individual, albeit physically and not immunocompromised, I can’t say that I’m incredibly “encouraged” by knowing that the director of a federal agency, and seemingly the larger American community, appears to be alright with letting certain Americans die. Of course, I understand that the fewer COVID-19 deaths, the better, and it is “encouraging” that for vaccinated individuals, Omicron is less fatal, but I don’t think deaths should be used as an optimistic statistic.
Walensky isn’t the only person that makes me feel this way, it honestly comes from the American attitude as a whole. In the question Walensky answered, the interviewer asked “Is it time to start rethinking how we’re living with the virus, that it’s potentially here to stay?” I hope it’s not.
Too many people I know believe we all have to get COVID-19 and it’ll be over with, and many think Omicron is “the strain to get,” as it is seemingly less fatal. But what about those that won’t survive? What makes us think COVID-19 will go away post-Omicron and that a more fatal strain won’t follow that natural immunity won’t defend us from (which Delta immunity doesn’t do for Omicron)?
To me, it feels like we’re supposed to think having a comorbidity is a personal failure, a reason to die, and not something to accept and be aware and cautious of. It’s “encouraging” that chronically ill individuals will die and that their deaths will be in vain. They will not die as undeserving victims of a global pandemic after we couldn’t care less to protect them, they will die as statistics that will be celebrated as a victory.
The Mississippi State Department of Health reports that “chronic diseases are among the most common of all health problems in Mississippi” and that “the prevalence of chronic diseases and related risk factors is generally higher in Mississippi than in other states.” People with disabilities and comorbidities will continue to die of COVID-19, and Mississippians appear to be first on the chopping block, statistically speaking. It might be your grandma who recently had a stroke, it might be your neighbor with cancer, it might be a random person in Gautier with diabetes, but it’s going to be someone.
This is not acceptable. Our medical system must find ways to reduce the fatality rate of COVID-19, and we, individually, must do all we can to prevent others from getting it. Get vaccinated. Get boosted. Wear a mask. Get tested (if you can find one). And for the love of God, stop complaining about it. It spreads too many particulates.
Londyn Lorenz is the opinion editor. She is a senior majoring in Arabic and international studies from Perryville, Missouri.
