To The Editor:
To all health care workers; please do not give up on us!
Yes, there are some people who will not get vaccinated, no matter how much they are told that it is good for them, their loved ones and neighbours. Of course, there are those who can’t be vaccinated for health reasons. They have no choice. There are those who are really concerned about the possible negative effects the vaccine might have on them. To those people I say, don’t listen to the talking heads on TV to base your decision. Talk to your doctor and ask him or her for an informed opinion.
There are those who claim it is against their religion. Not my intention to start a religious debate here, but I don’t understand religions that don’t take care of the health of family and neighbours.
Then there are those who just don’t like to be told what to do. This is probably the category where the majority of anti-vaccine persons are. To them, I have nothing to add that has not been said hundreds of times by hundreds of persons more qualified than yours truly.
To the health care workers I say, please don’t give up on us! When things get rough please think of the fact that the majority of us appreciate what you do and most of us are getting vaccinated as per the guidelines of our health care system.
Yes, there are still some people who will not wear masks. Health care workers have to wear masks (and usually shields too) during their full shifts at work (many times 12 hours or more). We are asked to wear masks just when we are around people. What an infringement on our
personal freedom to do as we please! To health care workers I say, please don’t give up on us! The majority of us appreciate what you do and the wearing of a mask is very little to ask in order to demonstrate that appreciation.
Now, it seems the government is going to ask health care workers with COVID to come to work if they are asymptomatic. The hospitals won’t have a choice. The omicron virus is spreading so quickly that health care workers are going off sick and those that remain can’t keep up.
Lastly, it is difficult to believe that almost 2 years into this pandemic some people still need the government to tell them how many people can gather for dinner or private parties. All one has to know is that omicron is spreading like wildfire and make a decision based on that.
This week I heard a nurse being interviewed by a news network say the following; I spend so much time at work that when I am there I feel guilty for not being with my family and when I do finally spend some time at home then I feel guilty because my co-workers have to do work that I could be doing (may not be verbatim but you get the gist). How sad is that! We’ve all had times in our working lives when we felt work took up too much of our family time but they were usually momentary issues. Health care workers have been at this for almost 2 years now.
To health care workers I say, please don’t give up on us! Most of us appreciate what you do and we will continue to do what we can to avoid having to add to your workload!
Pierre Leblanc
