The Naked Truth/by Jamala Rogers
One Million COVID Deaths
By the time you read this column, the United States will have hit or exceeded one million COVID deaths. One. Million. Lives. One million loved ones who were part of some family, left to grieve their unspeakable loss. One million humans have gone off the face of the earth. Take some time to let that sink in.
These numbers mean that I am still on my crusade to educate people on how they can guard themselves against the virus. I am still persuading people that we all have an obligation beyond our nuclear families to aid in our communities being safe. We have the tools available to us to bring this monster down. Too many refused to use these simple tools, putting us all in jeopardy. Except for a half dozen states, COVID cases have increased across the county. In the last
month, new cases have doubled and hospitalizations are on the rise.
Now that people can do their own home testing for the virus, it is believed that many positives will go uncounted. The actual infection rates are probably much higher than those being reported.
Wisconsin is one of those states which experienced a substantial increase in COVID cases. Over 14,500 deaths have occurred in the Badger State with at least 1 in 4 residents infected. Madison, the Capitol, is considered to be a hot spot for the pandemic.
Like other departments of health, the Wisconsin Department of Health is tracking the virus and collecting data. What are states doing with all that data? Are they targeting hot spot counties and neighborhoods to make the vaccines and boosters more accessible? Are they having conversations with families who’ve been resistant to practicing the protocols handed out by the Center for Disease Control?
Wisconsin has acknowledged that health inequities have disproportionately affected Black, Indigenous and other people of color as they face this new predator. Structural racism had created real barriers to the health and well-being of these vulnerable populations before the pandemic.
The health department attempted to tackle this issue. It provided translations in literature and service provision, located testing sites within these communities and made vaccinations more accessible. These measures are critical with these populations because of the higher infection rates contrasted with the lower vaccination rates.
Every aspect of our lives has been touched by the coronavirus. We are experiencing the financial, social and psychological fallout from the pandemic in real time, but the effects will linger for generations to come. For the populations impacted by racism before the pandemic, the same focus and resources must continue. Otherwise, we have learned nothing from this human catastrophe.
As a Black woman who knows the dangers, I wear my mask everywhere, even when the mask mandates have been relaxed or lifted completely. I stay away from crowds in close quarters because I don’t know who has not been vaccinated. Many times, I’m one of few people wearing masks prompting looks like I’m the weirdo. This doesn’t bother me one bit.
What bothers me — no, that saddens me — is that this country has become complacent with the deaths of its people to the virus. One million and counting. We know that most of these deaths were preventable but keeping the capital flowing is more important.
