Thread by @EvanBlake17

Please read and share this interview with a Baltimore public health professional, who describes the horrific conditions at their hospital during the #Omicron surge and thoughts on the #COVID19 pandemic. A 🧵 with some of the key quotes 1/

"We have had MULTIPLE bomb threats, armed individuals trying to break in, armed individuals ACTUALLY breaking in, stalking, tires slashed in our parking lots, people attempting to drive into or through the outdoor vaccine sites, people coughing or spitting on us." 2/

"The nurses and social workers have taken the brunt of this. For example, I know at least one palliative care social worker that quit after she was attacked by a family member as they weren’t allowed to see their family member who was dying from COVID." 3/

"I’m at a hospital system in the Baltimore region, and “redeployment” of staff within hospitals is happening at my system as well as multiple others in this region and the DC/Capital region." 4/

"I don’t think many people outside of health care know this is even happening, let alone what it means. No one without relevant certifications is caring for patients; however, 100s of staff have been pulled from other job functions to work directly in support roles." 5/

"That would include cleaning patient rooms & facilities, bringing meals & trays back & forth, transporting patients, etc. This is not without risk—being in patient rooms is obviously a risk, but we also run the risks of very aggrieved patients, families and community members." 6/

"All direct patient care is still done by doctors, nurses, NPs, techs, respiratory therapists, etc., but it's harder and harder to find qualified people to fill these jobs. Many hospitals are paying for travel nurses and refuse to pay their own staff nurses more." 7/

"We've been pulling nursing students out of school early and pulling doctors & nurses out of retirement. Many have had to redeploy to ICU units or the ED, i.e. many labor & delivery nurses were redeployed to an area ED because so many pregnant women with COVID were coming in." 8/

"I could not tell you a single member of any executive staff in this entire state (or outside of it, to be honest) that has publicly taken any kind of pay cut. Throughout the entire pandemic, myself and other hospital staff, including nurses, have not gotten any hazard pay." 9/

"At one point we got a small (~$250) bonus for the holidays. Many of us were furloughed and some positions have been eliminated; I do think this has been worse for other systems but could not tell you for sure." 10/

"It is unconscionable to me that people making well into the six figures would not redistribute at least some of that salary to individuals doing dangerous direct patient care during a deadly pandemic, but I can’t even find anyone suggesting this step." 11/

"The terrible conditions at my hospital are compounded by the feeling that I am living in two different worlds, or a sort of separate reality within and without the hospital." 12/

"We are wearing masks and face shields for hours at a time still, and many of our colleagues (a higher number than ever before) are out sick, but we are being asked to return faster than ever before as well, sometimes when we still have symptoms." 13/

"The emotional toll of caring for patients or populations who are suffering greatly and not necessarily being able to help them, and now it’s kids as well, is causing so many of us, me included, to suffer from anxiety, depression, insomnia, panic attacks, etc." 14/

"But when I go outside the hospital, it seems like no one even cares. I go to the grocery store and many individuals are not even wearing masks at all. People are at gyms without masks, going to concerts & parties inside with huge groups, etc. It's incredibly disheartening." 15/

"My experience during the pandemic has honestly been awful. I am actually looking to move out of health care at this point, and I have been working in the health care field in Baltimore for almost 15 years, specifically for six years with my current organization." 16/

"I've never felt this burnt out/disconnected from why I originally wanted to work in the field. Working at a Baltimore hospital has never been “easy,” but I've never once experienced the level of vitriol and harassment that I've experienced almost daily during the pandemic" 17/

"In addition to the bomb threats, armed robberies and vandalism, we have experienced people threatening us at vaccine clinics, people screaming at me or coughing in my face if I wear anything with the logo of the hospital or anything like that in the grocery store." 18/

"It’s been awful for the nurses, but also for palliative care workers. We were unable to let many families physically be in the room with their dying loved ones, and outside of the many threats and abuse from family members, the emotional burden of that is awful" 19/

"I think the Omicron surge has been harder emotionally because many people in the “outside world,” including sometimes our own family members or friends, and politicians, are operating as if the pandemic is over. There’s the emotional burden of that on top of everything else" 20/

"The efforts of some politicians (and “experts” paid by politicians) to essentially gaslight the public have been infuriating and frustrating. I think in particular it’s been very difficult for parents and immunocompromised individuals who CAN’T “return to normal" 21/

"The interview with @EpiEllie says it well—the POLITICAL framing of endemicity has been that “endemic” is a “step down” from pandemic... The political connotation that endemic is less “serious” doesn’t really mean anything in a scientific sense." 22/ wsws.org/en/articles/20…

"A good example of this is malaria, which is endemic to certain regions of the world, but which also causes untold suffering and is a leading cause of death in many of those same areas, especially pediatric death." 23/

"The framing of endemic as a sort of “junior” pandemic is extremely disingenuous and dangerous. Specificity of language means things. We’ve already been battling a huge disinformation campaign about how vaccines work... and we don’t need to add new layers to that." 24/

"The level of scientific literacy in this country is shockingly low, but that's not because people are stupid or “don’t believe in science.” It’s just that science and public health are not taught in schools and not presented in ways that invite curiosity and learning." 25/

.@LauraMiers @Sandyboots2020 @yaneerbaryam @lisa_iannattone @JuliaRaifman @GosiaGasperoPhD @LolaMotz @DmodosCutter @RougeMatisse @NyCovid @TymesNow @BarryHunt008 @watermelonpunch @zanfr @LongCovidKids @MarkedByCovid @ToshiAkima @EnemyInAState @danaparish @DrGTropini @jljcolorado

If anyone is interested in sharing your thoughts and experiences during the pandemic, send me a DM! The WSWS is the voice of the working class, which makes our interviews with workers and scientists unique. The full interview is linked below👇26/26
wsws.org/en/articles/20…