Selfishness, the Other Pandemic

There’s no “I” in “coronavirus”… wait, yes there is. And there’s an “I” in “COVID,” “pandemic,” and “I just infected grandma,” too. There’s just no “I” in “mask.” But there are many “I”’s in inane ideas like “I can’t get infected, and if I do, it’ll be no big deal.”

Selfishness is coronavirus’s sister-pandemic, an illness brewing for a very long time now. Separated, both coronavirus and selfishness can wreak havoc. Together, their synergy is unimaginably dark. And sadly, we’re all about to see this math play out.

The Friday of July 4th weekend, as viral cases surged across the country for the 5th straight day, I watched the TODAY Show, hoping to hear sound advice for the millions tuning in. Craig Melvoin asked Surgeon General Jerome Adams whether or not people should gather in large groups to watch fireworks, particularly in light of the massive government-organized displays planned for Mount Rushmore (est. crowd close to 4,000, masks optional) and the National Mall (300,000 people expected, or at least that’s the number of masks that were being provided, but of course not required). Adams refused to answer the question, stating that it wasn’t a yes/no proposition. Instead, you should know your own risk and decide for yourself, he argued. Selfishness front and center. Don’t mind the others around you, don’t worry if you could possibly be an asymptomatic carrier. You do you. When Adams went on to advocate for mask wearing by telling listeners that college football and proms won’t be back next year without the widespread use of face coverings now, Melvoin responded, “Or, if you just want grandma or grandpa to stay alive as well.” I wanted to reach through my screen and hug Craig Melvoin, except that’s not acceptable in the days of COVID, of course.

Sure, there’s evolutionary evidence that selfish behavior spares some members of a species, even allowing them to climb to the top of their pack and flex that most important of evolutionary muscles by reproducing and passing on the very genetic traits that led to dominance, selfishness included. But don’t be fooled: selfishness can also decimate the entire group. If you doubt this, just peek at the surging numbers of cases across the country, concentrated in areas that re-opened quickly or that have no enforcement of public health recommendations. My hometown of Los Angeles is currently at the top of the hotspot heap, and even though officials message the importance of mask wearing and distancing, not one person I know has seen anyone get cited for violating this recommendation. Not even a warning or a request to comply – forget the empty threats to fine people.

What would happen if we parented this way, setting limits with zero consequences? wondered no one ever. So explain governing this way.

There is no room for selfishness in a pandemic. It doesn’t matter if you’ve had documented COVID or if you just tested negative this morning or if you live in a biosphere and have emerged for the first time since coronavirus gripped the world: just do the right thing for everyone around you and put on a mask. Even the nudists are doing it!

(P.S. Need comfy, filtered masks for the whole family? OOMASK has you covered.)

Pivoting from editorial to news, let’s start with school reopening, which continues to headline, especially as colleges that broadcasted one set of plans a few weeks ago now begin to roll those back. The situation is fluid, so none of this is any great surprise. Among all of the articles I have read on the topic of school reentry this week, my favorite is this NY Times interview with Dr. Sean O’Leary, one of the authors of the AAP school reentry guidelines and a dad to a tween and teen.

Whether it’s schools or offices or any other gathering spot, as people flow back into group spaces expect to see temperature checking in place. Question is: should we also expect this strategy to pick up cases of COVID? STAT has an interesting point here, suggesting that a sniff test might be just as – if not more – sensitive and specific than a temp check. If you’re curious as to how coronavirus can lead to loss of taste or smell, read more here. The question of the day is this: should we all be loading up on vintage Scratch-and-Sniff sticker books?

Meanwhile, back at the doctor’s office . . . When the country shut down in March, insurance companies quickly flexed their reimbursement policies to allow for telemedicine visits, which kept patients home but in touch with their health care providers. The results have been overwhelmingly positive, with patients describing increased access to legit health advice like never before. So why are insurance companies starting to scale back on telehealth reimbursement? Especially as cases surge in many states across the country, this is a blossoming issue that every patient in the US should be aware of – not to mention, get vocal about.

Now a moment on racial inequity in the face of coronavirus. In a vacuum, this virus does not distinguish between people based upon factors like race or socioeconomics. But we don’t live in a vacuum, and both racial background and socioeconomic status clearly track with wellness, access to health care, and outcome once infected with COVID. People who live in crowded homes and then must leave these homes to go to their jobs – often as frontline workers – during the pandemic are far more likely to become infected. Read this deep-dive describing clearly with charts and maps how “Black and Latino people have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus in a widespread manner that spans the country, throughout hundreds of counties in urban, suburban and rural areas, and across all age groups.”

And finally, read this. ‘It Just Weighs on your Psyche’: Black Americans on Mental Health, Trauma, and Resilience tells first-person stories about the intersection of coronavirus and the modern-day civil rights movement.