Think, Act Responsibly to End This Pandemic

Dear Editor,

With the 2022 New Year, we see ourselves entering a possible THIRD year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many vaccinated people believed they were “safe” and therefore made decisions to attend social gatherings over the holidays, only to discover afterwards that they tested positive with Omicron, despite many experts saying, “…there is scant scientific evidence showing that boosters will in fact prevent infections and transmission” (Reuters 09/15/21) and that “the shots are mainly designed to prevent severe illness” (AP 01/03/22), 

However, one major ramification that isn’t widely publicized is that Omicron is taking out healthcare workers much faster & in greater numbers. Unlike other industries, healthcare workers in general, are not paid when they quarantine. 

According to healthcare staff, since corporate healthcare doesn’t pay its workers under quarantine, it saves money not paid in wages, while still pulling in the same amount of money per patient as when fully staffed/funded. 

Additionally, the CDC decreased the usual 10 day quarantine requirement down to only 5 days for healthcare workers primarily due to the workforce shortage (NYTimes 12/23/21), but then increased the requirement to 7 days within 24 hours, due to public outcry (CNN 12/24/21). During staffing shortage, the remaining skeletal healthcare staff are expected & required to continue the workload. 

Two months ago, multiple news agencies (including USNews 11/15/21) reported that 20% of healthcare workers have already quit due to burnout. This has affected wait times, treatment availability, and even hospital ER services. 

So although you may think the actions of others during this pandemic isn’t your problem, it ultimately can affect you in a much greater way. Please think and act responsibly and encourage others to do the same so that we can end this pandemic.

– Aileen Chong-Jeung, Castro Valley