Thread by @DCDoc33

This sentiment is widespread for those who have, well, pretty much everything. This statement is a luxury. It says “we have all the means to do fine, therefore we will “live our lives”.

Let me tell you about the other side…

Leana is not unique, but she is promoting her brand for everyone to follow, so we’ll use her as an example. Note she is not a public health expert and does not have an MPH. She just has a wide audience to give her unfiltered advice.
So what’s wrong with following her advice?

Let’s assume everyone decided to do what Leana advises, what then.

Well obviously many more people would get infected. Only 15-25% of DC has gotten a single booster. 45% of our city is black. Many of these are essential workers who need to use public transportation for work

So higher risk of contracting in crowded spaces. Unlikely they can work from home. They may or may not have paid time off to see a doctor if they get sick. Often it takes over a week to get an appointment, jeopardizing antiviral treatments. These folks go home to isolate

And they may not get paid while they are isolating. A large number have co-morbidities and may not be adequately vaxxed, thus may be hospitalized. Some may live with family members who are also vulnerable. Perhaps some don’t have health insurance.

So while my family, like Leanna’s, has good health, access to HC, ability to work from home or take time off, we are not making the same choices she is promoting.

We are also living our lives, but we are trying to do it in a way that accounts for others in our community.

I went to a Caps game last week and wore a mask. I am getting together with vulnerable family members tomorrow and we’ll test before, open windows and have an air purifier. We go to work and school and wear masks to protect each other and ourselves.

We might get infected, but we are trying to live our lives AND take simple steps to lower the risk of infection for ourselves which also lowers the risk of variants and infections for everyone.

It’s pretty simple and doesn’t take much to avoid throwing caution to the wind.