> Thought of the Month

> November 2021

"Back Story" for video

This video was inspired by a situation arising in recently in the region where I live, which is Saskatchewan, located in the middle of the Canadian Prairies. The video presents a somewhat humorous treatment of the situation in which a resurgence of the Covid pandemic occurred, primarily among people who didn't take advantage of the available Covid vaccine.

Different parts of the world have had different rates of progress at preventing the spread of the Covid virus. In this region, the vaccine had become readily available for adults by the spring and early summer of 2021, and yet in the fall of 2021 there was a resurgence.

Partly the problem was due to the provincial government's decision at the start of July to cancel all restrictions about wearing masks, and to remove limits to the size of public gatherings. Realizing that the disease predominately affected adults, and with an ample supply of vaccine finally available for adults, with great optimism the government assumed that the pandemic was finished. They didn't predict that more than a quarter of the adult population wouldn't take advantage of the free immunization that was readily available that summer.

By the end of October, the hospitals and Intensive Care Units (ICUs) were overflowing with Covid patients, most of whom didn't get vaccinated. Once again, all elective treatments were cancelled, adding to a huge backlog of patients awaiting treatment.

It's not just Covid patients who have suffered. Perhaps some of you who are reading this have needed surgery sometime in your life, for damage to a knee joint occurring in a fall, or for a torn muscle, or a newly discovered tumor while it is still small. So, you can understand what it means to wait for a cure. A normal wait for surgery might be a few months, but now extend it out for a year or more, in which the suffering and disability is continued, and small risks increase to big ones. This is the consequence because some people couldn't bother to get vaccinated, or decided not to, out of stupidity or ignorance.

That may overstate the case slightly, because sometimes there are reasons to not get vaccinated. For example, most medications are not certified for use by pregnant women, but in the case of the Covid vaccine, it is safe in that situation. People need to go beyond making assumptions or guesses, and look into the information that is available.

Because of the situation that arose, the local government had to re-introduce some restrictions in the fall of 2021. Though they were slow to take action, by early November (now), the number of sick people is declining. People are wearing masks in public again. To eat in a restaurant, customers must either have proof of vaccination or proof of a recent test showing that they aren't carrying the disease. Government offices and some businesses are requiring the same from their employees.

From an ethical perspective, there are two important principles that this draws to light:

1. When a person takes a personal risk, often that person is not the only person affected. He (or she) may have responsibilities to others, and others will also try to rescue him even at their own peril. A personal risk that "doesn't matter" is not a usual situation.
2. Having accurate information and knowledge is an essential part of any ethical decision. In the case of the Covid vaccine, there are health risks to those who get vaccinated, but the evidence clearly demonstrates that the benefits outweigh the risks. Having diligence to find out the facts is part of what it takes to be a "good person." Spreading disinformation as a publicity gimmick is dishonest and unethical. Relying on fake news is gullible and not very good either!

Everyone would like to imagine that everything will be wonderful even if they take no action, but wishful thinking is a human weakness that often doesn't work out well.

- Arthur de Leyssac, November 2021.

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