COVID Crisis Post 6: Choose Love, Not Selfishness.
I was getting ready to post earlier tonight, and it was going to be another passionate post full of good info, but I am frustrated, and this is much more important to say at this time:
EVERYONE WHO IS ASKING THEIR DOCTORS TO PRESCRIBE HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE "JUST IN CASE" THEY GET COVID-19 NEEDS TO STOP.
And doctors - STOP PRESCRIBING IT.
Stop being so selfish and self-serving. There are people who actually, you know, HAVE COVID-19 WITH SEVERE SYMPTOMS or are super high-risk for getting exposed like, you know, HEALTHCARE WORKERS WHO ARE RISKING THEIR LIVES FOR YOU or have, you know, DISEASES LIKE LUPUS WHO NEED THIS AS PART OF THEIR TREATMENT. You know who you are. YOU ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROBLEM. If you have mild symptoms, JUST STAY AT HOME - you don't need hydroxychloroquine. You don't need to pop them like vitamins to stave off the common cold. Because you know what? AS HEALTHCARE WORKERS, IF WE CAN'T STAY HEALTHY, WHO IS GOING TO TAKE CARE OF EVERYONE???
UNBELIEVABLE. And sad.
I have friends who have been exposed to SUPER-SPREADING EVENTS while managing airways, events where the risk of aerosolization of the virus is great and make those high-risk exposure events, who CONSCIOUSLY are making a choice to risk THEMSELVES so another person has a CHANCE to survive. Including myself.
Now many pharmacies across the nation don't have any available as a result of your selfishness. The data LOOKS promising but far from conclusive. And if we have no other treatment or form of prophylaxis at this time, then at least give those people at highest-risk a SHOT at early prevention or treatment so we can continue doing what we do because we desperately want to be there for you.
This is the same shit that has happened with the shortage of personal protective equipment and sanitizer and a whole host of other things. Yes, the government has MASSIVELY f-ed up this whole pandemic with their (lack of) response. It borders on criminal. But seriously? Not being able to get the meds we need to keep us healthy so we can take care of you? Having to make masks because there are none to be found? The CDC saying we can wear bandanas and scarves as a last resort for protection against COVID-19?
Just ugh.
ALL OF THESE SELFISH ACTIONS HAVE INCREASED OUR RISK DRAMATICALLY AS A RESULT. And if our risk goes up, then that means your loved ones risk, should they get sick or your medical provider gets sick, also goes up. It's a VICIOUS downward spiral. And we're the only ones who can break it.
This hurts my heart. I have seen the humanity our society is capable of. It exists. I feel it. And I am continuing to hold out hope that our humanity, as a people, will eventually prevail. I am scared for my friends. My family. For myself. For you. For your loved ones. Please, think about the greater good. Sacrifice for your fellow human beings. Because we need it more than ever.
We can all do better. And we won't get through this until people start thinking about everyone else, and stop thinking just about themselves.
"The value in someone doing something for the greater good, isn't in the fact that they did something for the greater good. It is in the realization that of all the choices they had, they choose to do something for the greater good. They choose to be part of something bigger than themselves. Their choice is love." - HW Mann
Choose love. Good night.