Posted by:
Nightingale
(
)
Date: September 04, 2021 12:35PM
Eric K Wrote:
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> I wrote in Facebook that I had a scheduled surgery
> canceled due to COVID over taking the hospital.
> My county is
> only 40% vaccinated - one of the lowest in the
> nation.
Eric, I'm so sorry about your cancelled surgery. It's already a stressful situation and then you have to deal with this.
Only 40% vaccinated - wow. Alberta's number is 70% fully vaccinated, as in B.C., and that is considered still too low. They often spoke of herd immunity at the beginning but it's predicted that 80-90% of the population would need to be vaccinated to achieve it, if even then (due to the number and virulence of all the variants).
Here's a CBC article that discusses herd immunity (from May and we know things change quickly so nothing is written in stone). The article mentions the math involved in the herd immunity goal:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/herd-immunity-threshold-canada-covid-1.6013685Excerpt:
"It's not herd immunity or bust.
"Unlike politicians, epidemiologists don't obsess over a precise number, which can be hard to pin down. In practice, they say, the closer we get to that threshold — whatever it actually is — the better. And as more people are immunized, life can begin returning to something that feels much more normal."
(For the math, see the article - I don't do math!).
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Eric, in Alberta they've cancelled 60% of the scheduled surgeries. I don't blame people for being outraged that, seemingly, those who are immunized are suffering due to the many who are not. The latter are taking up most of the ER and ICU beds, crowding out nearly everyone else due to sheer numbers but also due to the contagion factor.
Too, many staff members are feeling like burnout is lurking just around the corner in their own futures. It's hard to come back from extremes like that.
Eric:
>I did not see how it would motivate the
> unvaccinated to shift their position as it is
> clear they do not care about others.
I don't blame you for not wanting to go public about your experience.
It's a tough realization that others don't realize or don't care that their actions affect others in so many ways, from cancelled surgeries, delayed care or lack of care for anything less than a screaming emergency now, physicians having to consult with very ill patients in hallways or parking lots (so no privacy, no quick care, less than 100% quality care, treatment delays and cancellations, etc).
Where I totally give up, and scream inside, is when someone starts with the "everybody's lying" excuse for not getting vaccinated. Every physician, nurse, allied health, scientist, virologist, health care expert, et al, in the known universe is in cahoots to trick the entire population worldwide. Yeah, OK.
Even I, at that point, save my breath when my usual approach is to try to keep on discussing and explaining. Just. No. Point.