If you had to choose….
Imagine you were sitting in a room with two very different groups of people also in the room. One group on your right side, hundreds of elderly and adults with underlying medical conditions, and 6 feet apart from them, on the other side, hundreds of children aged 4–18. Of course, those children under age 12 (or whatever your state law is for allowing children to stay at home unattended) are with a guardian, either a mom, dad, nanny, or older sibling. Notice I did not say grandparent, because grandchildren and grandparents are not supposed to get near each other now, even if they wear masks and use hand gel before and after interacting and stay home if they are sick….
Imagine you were given the responsibility by God (even if you don’t believe in God, for the purposes of this thought experiment just go along with it!) of CHOOSING between SOME of the people in the group on your right, the elderly and sick adults, being admitted to the hospital and dying (yes, dying. This is not a fun thought experiment). Or MOST of the children and teenagers (not to mention their guardians as well) on your left developing long term chronic health conditions such as obesity, mental health diseases such as depression and anxiety, and being subject to the conditions of worsening child abuse, child neglect, food insecurity, homelessness, and poor or no access to education.
Now, imagine how your choice is going to affect the world 5 years from now. This is not an easy decision.
Finally, imagine if you didn’t HAVE to choose because everyone old enough (and we have shown that children 5 and older wear masks and wash their hands better and more consistently than adults, don’t go to bars and restaurants as much, don’t fly on airplanes as much, and don’t throw private intimate large house-parties) wore his or her mask. Imagine if everyone who could avoided large gatherings, thought twice before partying in close proximity to a large group of other people, especially indoors, got tested when he/she/they were sick and self-quarantined as much as possible for two weeks after getting a positive result, and got vaccinated when a vaccine came out.
That entire morbid, insensitive sounding scenario above wouldn’t have to be a reality. And that decision is EXACTLY what our nation’s and world’s leaders are having to face because those of us who can be responsible, those of us who can be safe and make smart choices and yes, still actually live pretty normal lives with just a few minor inconveniences before a vaccine is widely available, are not doing our part to protect those vulnerable, at risk individuals in our society. The elderly and sick are at risk of DYING. The children and youth are at risk of developing life-long, serious mental and physical morbidities, therefore significantly decreasing their quality of life for decades to come and causing more long-term economic hardship than the acute viral pandemic.
