Dealing with Covid Deniers: Impact of Covid-19
The coronavirus pandemic has persisted for almost two years and the attitude towards it has varied. Some people, labeled as Covid Deniers or Covidiots, are still skeptical of the existence of the virus or refuse to do things as recommended such as wearing a mask, staying at home, or getting vaccinated. For some, the message seems clear, but it just isn’t getting through to others.
Speak Precisely
One of the issues that plague society is misinformation but even worse so is the obsession with information. Information has become the new bible and the daily statistics of the gospel passages. Yes, correct information is important, but it is not how we communicate.
A programmer seldom speaks to a computer through binary and we are terrible at understanding numbers. Unless your profession demands it as a skill, visualizing 500 L is most likely difficult. Calculus is also difficult for many individuals so we cannot assume there is a general understanding of rates and graphs.
It is very tempting to announce the daily covid cases as reported especially when the numbers are typically high. Chances are this will not persuade anyone this far in. Instead, use numbers that are specifically relevant to them.
“Hey, you live with our parents, haven’t seen your best friend in 2-years, and attend your last year of school completely online. Could you consider the risks of contracting covid and getting vaccinated?”
Discuss How You Feel
This is something that shockingly is not practiced more often.
It is amazing how much media coverage there is on covid-19 for people to still not believe the danger. Why that’s the case isn’t obvious either.
Stop telling others what to feel. Discuss their actions and how it makes you feel.
The only effective way to change how someone feels by telling them how to feel is to tell them that they should feel annoyed or mad. Classic younger sibling tactic. Likewise, with covid-19, it should not be surprising that being told to be scared is eliciting an emotional response.
With the new variants, you may feel the need to bring up the seriousness and lethality. By doing so, the message can be received as “These numbers are terrifying, you should be scared too.” Rather than trying to convince them that we are all affected and are at risk of being infected, be honest with how the situation makes you feel and suggest how they could help.
“Hey, I’m scared that the delta variant has started spreading and poses a threat to us. I would feel less stressed if you are also vaccinated.”
The Truth
The truth is that I was the one who was being difficult specifically with getting the covid-19 vaccinated. The disappointing reality as an Assistant Instructor last year, I was working with full classes in a laboratory setting. At the time, I thought it was more important to be vaccinated. It wasn’t because my parents are nearing retirement, or I felt in danger of contracting covid-19.
I was convinced that the impact was much higher, and more people were indirectly involved. My mother worked in a supermarket and handles the groceries of hundreds of random individuals each week, but the interaction is maybe 5 minutes long or less. As an Assistant Instructor, I was the common denominator present when working with multiple sets of students for multiple hours over multiple weeks. I trusted the protocols put in place to make the lab setting possible, but the worst-case scenario depended on me contracting the virus. The students and their households would be at risk and I am unaware of each students’ circumstances.
At the end of the term, everything was fine but the opportunity to be vaccinated was still a few months away. Now that the contract has ended, I attend my university classes online and see fewer people regularly for extended periods. The vaccine was less inviting given the change in my situation.
As vaccines rolled out, everyone was excited to announce the time of their booking or how long it has been since their vaccination. Even when I went with my father for his vaccination, in case he did not feel like driving back, I overheard “Pfizer is the shit! I got the good stuff!” I passed by the facility they were administering the shots.
I was disgusted by the fearmongering, peer pressure, and constant attacks.
It had the nasty, immature side of religion. Instead of going to hell, it was the threat of dying. Covid-19 was a sin and those who contract it were not following the commandments. I’m right, you’re wrong. A facemask is a cross we wear, and the vaccine the holy communion.
The media coverage has proven to be overly effective. The news and social media sentiment have encouraged witch-hunts of anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers, and covidiots. We must antagonize people who remove their facemask or step off the path to maintain a 2-meter distance.
When someone removes their facemask in front of you, are they trying to kill you or do they trust you?
The reality is that we are treating each other like crap. There is no point in discussing covid-19 if we choose to treat each other poorly. The main reason why I finally getting vaccinated is that it was causing stress to people close to me.
How It Affected My Life
2019 and 2020 have been extremely difficult years. From being in two car accidents, heartbreak, and losing a friend, the coronavirus hardly makes the list. We can never win an argument against pain. It hurts to realize that the general obsession with the coronavirus disrupted the emotional support I needed.
The tail end of 2019 marked the end of a relationship and I had two close friends help me through life and school. One friend, I have only seen once in person since (currently one and a half years later. The other friend we would have discovered had passed away. University transitioned to online, so my friend and I would move back to our respective hometowns to live with our parents.
You could not convince me that covid-19 was something to be concerned with. Not when I couldn’t trust myself. Not when I was overcome with grief. Not when I was heartbroken.
It was difficult talking about graduation and the prospects of starting a career with my students as it reminded me of conversations with my friend who passed away. I may not talk about 2019 and 2020 but processing those emotions needs time.
I don’t think the covid-19 needs to be met with so much fear. I can’t be convinced to feel fear from the statistics. It doesn’t make sense to harass me with the rise of cases or the risks and probabilities when what happened to me causes real pain.
To Conclude
No doubt, the covid-19 pandemic has affected each of us, directly or indirectly. With so much focus on statistics, cases, protocols, and declaring superiority, the personal dimension is completely lost.
The pandemic is a cause for stress, but it is not an excuse to attack, place blame on, or treat each other poorly. Our actions put us at risk of contracting covid-19, which has a probability of being fatal. But when we choose to be so harsh daily, it is not up to a probability that we are making things worse.