Why so much emphasis on the pandemic here? Because, as mentioned many times, the virus in certain demographics seems to favor overweight victims; and if its victims are not overweight already, the virus is capable of putting such a cramp in their lifestyle, they are unable to do helpful things like exercise, or care about what they put in their mouths, and thus become more likely to grow obese. By making us be very cautious about travel and exposure, the virus interferes with scientific studies of obesity, and with people’s ability to access programs that might help reduce the total amount of obesity.
The pandemic keeps kids immobile in front of screens, instead of out running around, participating in sports or just movement in general. At its most savage, it kills the adults who are raising the kids, making them easy prey. Children whose lives are turned upside down by the death (or even the serious illness) of parents and other caregivers are susceptible to depression and other mental and emotional states that open the door to stress eating, comfort eating, and every other kind of disordered eating pattern.
In general, we simply do not want any more people to catch COVID-19, especially kids, and especially their parents, and especially the medical personnel we count on to help us survive! Most recently, we referenced a doctor who struggled with ambivalent feelings about patients who are not vaccinated, and who then expect a million dollars worth of state-of-the-art treatment to be delivered with care and compassion. When doctors are tempted to violate the Hippocratic Oath and recommend that hospitals turn away vaccine refusers, the situation is serious indeed.
Enough is enough
Doctors, nurses, therapists, technicians, and everybody else on the hospital staff is disgusted with having to put up with not only overwork and constant anxiety about coming down with the plague, but with the willful ignorance that causes packed emergency rooms and an overflow of sick people waiting in chairs out in the driveway. We know this because they vent their feelings via social media. Example: in July, from Colorado, Dr. Debby Burnett (@BurnettForCo3 on Twitter) wrote, “The entire COVID floor and the ICU are at capacity with COVID patients — almost all unvaccinated.”
Doctors and administrators are horrified by having to make decisions about patients with other serious problems. Because of overcrowding and insufficient staff, people who could have been easily fixed have to wait for days until their conditions attain life-or-death urgency. Let’s talk about this more next time, and wrap up here with a quotation from Dr. Peter J. Hotez:
But in this latest phase, it’s not only an influx of patients but also the accumulating losses of trained health professionals that is so worrisome. Burnout has been a problem throughout the pandemic. Yet overwhelmed nurses and other hospital staff are leaving the profession and their posts due to a combination of factors that include exhaustion and the demoralization of taking care of so many dying young and middle-aged patients who refused vaccines. As The New York Times reported this past week, there were some 2,000 fewer nurses working in the state of Mississippi — currently deep in the throes of a COVID-19 explosion — than there were as recently as Jan. 1 of this year.
Your responses and feedback are welcome!
Source: “The Latest COVID-19 Surge Is Just the Start of a New Nightmare,” TheDailyBeast.com, 09/07/21
Image by Jernej Furman/CC BY 2.0
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