Replying to one dimensional comments on social media that are pillared in staunch opinion and belief seldom leads to fruitful conversation, especially with a limitation of 280 characters on platforms like Twitter as capabilities in conciseness and effectiveness vary. In fact, it appears that most of the time exchanges quickly deteriorate to name calling, grammar checking, and other irrelevant points far from the initial intent of the content or reply. This has become a very common pattern with respect to COVID-19 as the bottomless pit of information and misinformation has fuelled the good, the bad, and the ugly to a point of no return for many where living in 15 second clips without fact-checking gives them all the expert credentials they need to be pseudo-experts.

I wrote an article early in August called, “So, What’s The Plan? Returning To School In Ontario” that focused on pandemic data as it pertains to students and the impact of a poor plan that exposes risk for children for whom a vaccine does not exist at the time of writing and that article, which includes a full list of references has been shared many times. Two responses in succession by different posters that caught my attention to my questioning of vaccination certification to attend sporting events, but not schools, read as follows:

“Kids are practically immune”, followed by

“So are most adults. Only 1% actually die from it”

From previous articles like, “What It Means When you Say, I Think You’re Missing My Point”, deconstructing word choices and structures can often reveal intentions, authenticity, and perhaps validity, amoung other oodles of social analysis. What is intriguing in these responses is how the words Practically and Only are being used as justifications and acknowledgement in the continuation of having COVID-19 spread. Of course, there’s also some expert advice in there too. I mean if kids are “practically” immune that means that “some” aren’t, but there are no numbers or evidence to support what “practically” means, so whatever number it reflects it is not important and so what if some kids aren’t immune to it? Besides, most adults are allegedly immune to it too and so what if an unconfirmed only 1% die from it?

When did it become acceptable that any amount of people being compromised or allowed to die when there is a viable option to help prevent either? If that is where humanity has landed, then this is the real zombie apocalypse, and we can’t possibly be so naïve as to believe this is only reflected in opinions of this pandemic as other global events unfold with similar reaction and consequence.

Focusing on these pandemic related statements though, let’s start with the kids and their practical immunity.

The World Health Organization published on September 18, 2020, that “so far, data suggests that children under the age of 18 years represent 8.5% of reported cases, with relatively few deaths compared to other age groups and usually mild disease. However, cases of critical illness have been reported. As with adults, pre-existing medical conditions have been suggested as a risk factor for severe disease and intensive care admission in children.” As we fast-forward a year, CNN reports that “as students and staff return to school, the highly transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19 has caused cases, hospitalizations and death rates to soar across the country. Children under 12 are particularly vulnerable to infection as they are not yet eligible for vaccination… contrary to research early in the pandemic, children are just as likely to become infected as adults. According to the CDC, COVID-19 infection rates for adolescents aged 5 to 17 were as high as in adults 18 to 49, and higher than rated in adults over 50.” – “practically immune”, right?

So how about those adults? I mean, so what if 1% die as long as you’re not one of the 1%, what’s the issue? But wait, is it really only 1% and is any % acceptable when you consider not only the preventability of death, but the reduction in impact to overall health, mental health, medical service, economy, and education?

According to WorldoMeters.info, as of September 6, 2021, there have been 4,583,373 deaths world-wide from a total case count of 221,639,517 for a 2+% death ratio. As a start, that’s double the amount of the claim that only “1% die from it”. Arguably and inevitably the argument that follows by conspiracy theorists and naysayers is, “more people die from cancer (and other diseases)”. While there is some truth to that, there are also other factual circumstances that must be explored for a more fulsome understanding. In a GLOBAL Cancer Profile 2020 report by the World Health Organization, in 2018 there were a total of 18,078,957 reported cancer cases and 9,55,027 deaths for a mortality rate of 52%. The projected lives saved in 2020 was 200,000, although projections into 2030 suggest that may increase to 1.2 million. When you consider the investment in cancer research and treatment year over year and that in 2020 only 200,000 lives were saved. Some differences for consideration between COVID-19 and Cancer is that the global impact of COVID-19 on medical, economic, and social constructs far exceeds that of cancer as COVID-19 has impacted approximately 203 million more people and while cancer has killed double the amount of people than COVID-19, that number can be significantly reduced because a vaccine exists that not only lessens the possibility of catching it and its symptoms, but also drops the mortality rate whereas with cancer, while treatments exist, the results are currently far less effective.

There is little doubt that the unvaccinated are currently driving the infection numbers as according to OurWorldindata.org, only 28% are fully vaccinated and 13% partially vaccinated globally after 5.49 billion doses of the vaccine have been administered. In Canada, as of September 5th the Global News Coronavirus Tracker reports that there have been 1,513,723 cases and Ontario leads the way with 569,633 or 38% of all cases. The same report shows that 77% of Canadians aged 12+ are fully vaccinated and those with 1 dose aged 12+ sit at 84%. Ontario sits in 9th place out of the 13 Provinces and Territories for being fully vaccinated. In a Public Health Ontario report, Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 Following Vaccination in Ontario: December 14, 2020 to August 21, 2021 infections are hitting 90.7% of those unprotected (no vaccine or 1 dose from 13 days of being vaccinated) and leaving 9.3% breakthrough cases in those fully vaccinated. In my August article, “So, What’s The Plan? Returning To School In Ontario” I reported that, “The exposure risk remains high for unvaccinated children who are under the age of 12 (Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6) as they made up approximately 92% of elementary school students in Ontario at an approximate population count of 1,131,656 from a total 1,425,145.”

Living in a world of anti-vaccine, COVID-19 conspiracy sensationalism through emotional and non-factual comments isn’t going to practically protect anyone. The current vaccine and proven preventative measures will, especially for our most vulnerable. While the pandemic has brought out the good, the bad, and the ugly in many facets of our society, the choice to decide where each of us sits in that spectrum, is still only ours to make.

This is an opinion article by Guido Piraino of  The Monthly Social Podcast. It may also be heard on The Path Radio Mix Online. You can read other opinion articles on the blog page.

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