StemCell Therapy

Group of doctors and nurses talking about coronavirus.

As Ive watched the daily press briefings given by my state officials, it strikes me how they discuss COVID-19 deaths. They will list the age, gender, and county of the person who passed away before adding that one all-important phrase, with underlying health conditions. On the surface, at a public health level, that may seem like important information to include. But that label divides the population into two groups: those with pre-existing health conditions and those without.

Its psychologically painful to feel an ongoing sense of risk. People are not used to this level of discussion and disruption around health. Its easier to choose to believe that we are not actually at risk, that everything will be fine for us. The medias emphasis on how the people who died had preexisting conditions subconsciously reassures people without preexisting conditions that they are not at risk. It separates people into two tiers (healthy vs. not), and deaths from one of those tiers are now becoming viewed as expected and even acceptable.

Related: Download The Mighty app to connect in real time with people who can relate to what you're going through.

One man recently told my husband that he would be OK with one to two million deaths in the US from this virus, as long as the economy could have stayed open. What is the unspoken message of that belief? He is OK with that number of deaths because they would most likely be from vulnerable populations: elderly people, chronically ill people, and people with disabilities.

This current pandemic has led to many discussions around the Spanish Flu outbreak of 100 years ago, in which many children and young adults died. Lately, people who are against stay-at-home orders, mask usage, and social distancing will bring up that fact to show that the 1918 outbreak was different from todays outbreak because so many young, healthy people died. That differentiation is showing their true beliefs about the value of vulnerable populations, not only including the elderly (15 percent risk of dying from COVID-19) but also people with disabilities (close to 10 percent risk of dying from COVID-19).

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Related: What Makes My Life Different From Healthy People's Lives During COVID-19

Are their deaths without meaning because of their preexisting conditions, whether age or disability? This is what people are implying, whether consciously or unconsciously, when they constantly reiterate, But almost everyone who died had underlying health conditions.

This is where advocacy comes into play: dont let people in your life get away with saying that.

Challenge them: is massive loss of life acceptable to you as long as the deaths come from vulnerable population groups? Why are their lives not valuable to you?

On a personal level, dont allow yourself to fall into the easy trap of feeling safe just because you may not be at risk of death from this virus. Every time you read a report of someone who died from COVID-19 with preexisting health conditions, please pay homage to them by recognizing them in your mind as someone who loved and was loved, who had hobbies and joys and things in their life they looked forward to, same as you. Honor them through your acknowledgment.

Related: How I'm Managing My Anxiety and Parenting During COVID-19

While not everyone may have an underlying condition in the form of a disability, if we are fortunate, we will all grow old someday. When that day comes, I can only hope that others will view my life and passing with respect as well. Every life is deserving of protection and respect.

For more on the coronavirus, check out the following stories from our community:

Helping a Child With Autism Tolerate Wearing a Face Mask

To Those Who Question the Value of My Life During COVID-19

The COVID-19 Reopening Questions I Need Answers for as a Person at High Risk

It's OK If You're Functioning in Survival Mode Right Now

Read more:
The Problem With the Way Officials Are Categorizing COVID-19 Deaths - Yahoo Lifestyle

This entry was posted on May 19, 2020 at 5:44 pm and is filed under Death by Stem Cells. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |