#BTEditorial – Elderly should not be collateral damage

Concern was recently raised in a casual conversation among a group of professionals, that Barbadians seem not troubled by the fact that there remains a constant drumbeat of deaths caused by COVID-19.

The rationale for this conclusion was the seeming lack of empathy or concern from authorities and average citizens as was exhibited in the early stages of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. It seems Barbadians have become numb to the pain and mortality from the disease.

Having been bombarded with the idea that we “must learn to live with COVID-19”, too many citizens have become ambivalent in their attitude towards the easy mitigation measures that will ensure protection from the illness.

Those precautions still remain relevant and include correctly worn face masks, hand sanitisation, physical distancing, and importantly, vaccination from the widely available and freely supplied range of vaccines.

But too often, and on a daily basis, Barbados continues to record multiple deaths from the disease. This, despite the fact that the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron, which is responsible for the current wave we are experiencing, is said to be a milder form of the disease, though more infectious.

Is it because most of those deaths are being recorded among our elderly or mature population that there is no outcry? One can only assume so.

Were these daily deaths registered among the teenagers, young mothers, or men in the workforce, would there be a more decisive and broad-based response to the disease?

Lamentably, those who have retired or are near retirement seem to be dispensable in the eyes of those who fail to appreciate that they too, if lucky, will travel this road.

We cannot afford to treat the lives of our mature demographic as though they are of no worth.

There must be a comprehensive programme to have a greater percentage of our over-50s vaccinated and penalties should be imposed on those who prevent elderly members of their household, who wish to be vaccinated, from receiving the vaccines.

All the data so far, show that the outcomes for the vaccinated against COVID-19 are much more favourable than for those who are unvaccinated.

Sadly, the circumstance that we face in Barbados is not an outlier, but symptomatic of what is happening throughout the region.

Dr Carissa F. Etienne, Director of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) recently reminded the region that quite often, what has happened elsewhere in the world, is a foreshadowing of what we in the region will face when it comes to this disease.

She cited the recent dramatic COVID-19 surges in Europe and East Asia that were caused by the BA.2 Omicron sub- variant.

In North America—Canada specifically—the number of cases increased by one-third in recent weeks while hospitalisations increased by ten per cent. There were also surges registered in 15 Caribbean countries including Barbados.

If we are to “live with COVID” as has been persistently reinforced, then we ought to ensure that no section of our population is to become the sacrificial lamb in our cause to “get back to normal”.

We cannot accept that the “new normal” translates to the daily deaths of our grandmothers, grandfathers and aunties and uncles, which are written off as collateral damage for the sake of commerce, entertainment, and financial gain.

The recent announcement by COVID-19 public advisor David Ellis that there will be some attention focused on shielding especially those folks who are residents of nursing homes or in their own houses and are battling non-communicable diseases, is a good start.

Some may argue that it is a belated initiative after such an unfortunately long list of deaths which now top 400, and most of which occurred over the past 12 months.

“We are having various discussions and what is of immediate concern is that we cannot separate COVID-19 from non-communicable diseases (NCDs). All indications are that the NCD situation has worsened over the two years that people could not go to their doctor or their clinic.

“It has really exposed to us the magnitude of the NCD problem that we face in the country. There is an urgent need for us to pay more attention to this matter,” Ellis told the media recently.

We agree with the COVID-19 public advisor. But we are also calling on the authorities to make the care of the elderly a priority and for this demographic to be a major part of the messaging.

Our older population must feel that they are important, and they must hear it from the authorities and feel it in their lives.