10 Ways to Stop Ignoring the Pandemic

Here’s a thought.

We know that the pandemic exists, right?

We know that because experts with clear data are telling us that.

The problem is that it’s not politically convenient for politicians to talk about the pandemic not being over, because it requires them to pursue a narrative of public health that is not appealing during an election campaign.

The problem is that we’re tired. We’re in year four with no end in sight – it’s really tempting to say “for the love of god, are we there yet?”

The problem is that we aren’t going to get “there” unless we start listening to the experts telling us that something has to shift. We are going to see long-term health impacts that will echo for the rest of our lives if we continue to allow those in charge to choose wilful blindness over public health.

So, 10 easy steps to remember that oh, yeah, there’s a crisis:

1.) Acknowledge there’s a problem.

2.) If you’re a politician, it’s highly likely the problem is you.

3.) Talk to an expert or a lived experience advocate to better understand why you are the problem.

4.) Once you’ve done that, implement measures that (critically) both mitigate risk and support impacts.

Note: both risk and impact are going to increase, therefore the policy status quo isn’t sufficient (a+b=c.)

5.) What measures? You may not have noticed, but Covid is airborne. That means we need minimum ventilation standards to help minimise the spread. It’s not enough to say that we are acting - we must ask what more can we do? Ventilation is one of the answers to that question.

6.) If you are a business person, you may want to consider that fact that having staff off sick due to Covid, with 1 in 6 suffering the impacts of Long Covid, and reinfection likely to compound existing impacts, as well as further compromised immunity to other illnesses as a result of Covid, is going to impact your business, full stop.

Funnily enough, you can make a rational business decision to minimise the chances of this by asking your staff to wear a mask, and by looking into those ventilation standards.

7.) If you can’t work due to Long Covid, accessibility is a huge issue. The hoops to jump through just to get basic support are consistently reported by lived experience voices. These issues are being actively ignored. If you’re a politician, this is something that you could look into, given the subject of this post.

8.) Policy like sick leave is not adequate for the Covid era. We’re all going to get a lot sicker, for longer, more often. Our current policies don’t cover it – especially given the current lack of mitigation (politicians, please see point two.)

9.) Communication. People don’t understand that surgical masks aren’t adequate anymore, let alone that reinfection doubles your risk of dying and triples the likelihood of being hospitalised. We need to start talking about reinfection, about variants that escape the protection offered by vaccines, about the impact of Long Covid.

10.) Vote. It is (dear god) an election year. So if you’re not a politician, please express your intent to vote for those who see public health as a priority.

And if you are a politician reading this, I hope you’re the kind that listens to your constituents.