Agree to Disagree: Why I'll be shopping in Quebec for now...

The pandemic has made something crystal clear for me: while most of us take other people’s well being into consideration when making decisions, when it comes down to Covid 19, a small portion of us simply don’t care. These individuals are focused on their little belly buttons and are unable to compromise for the greater good. Two years of sacrifices is all they had to give. They are tired (cue the violin) and (stomp your feet here) no longer want to wear a mask.

Then there is what I call the “good boys and good girls”. Those who will follow what the government tells them to do because they put blind trust into an utterly flawed and corrupt system. And it’s funny because both myself, and the anti-vax and anti-mask movement, have a bone to pick with those people. But for entirely different reasons.

Before the pandemic arrived here, I was already asking questions and researching this novel coronavirus. I took precautions early to protect my family. I implemented measures that weeks later were put into mandates. Hand washing and sanitizing everything became second nature. I didn’t wait for politicians to tell me what to do. I was proactive.

When my son caught Covid–at least, we’re assuming that it was–he was isolated in his room and wore a mask to go everywhere, something I had never done in 24 years of parenting and five kids. My caution, although deemed excessive at the time, probably prevented the entire family from getting sick. I followed the science, early.

What happened to following the science in Ontario?

With the removal of the mask mandate, which was pretty much the last of all mandates, many of us are now under the impression that the pandemic is over. Politicians are telling us we are now safe. Make no mistake about it: we may be done with Covid, but Covid isn’t done with us.

Ford had promised us he would “follow the science”, so what changed? Well, one could debate that many things changed that helped getting us to “normal”. For one, we’re mostly vaccinated. That is true, we are, and that’s fantastic. However, still, we know that vaccine protection weens over time, and while the majority of deaths hits the non-vaccinated (see Ontario stats), a portion of fully vaxxed people also die. Maily elderly. Vaccines are but one “tool” in our toolbox.

Masks are also one such tool. Several real scientists (see this piece published earlier) maintain that masks are an essential layer of protection when it comes to catching covid, but also promote their use because they limit the amount of viral load we get exposed to, possibly resulting in milder infections when we do get infected, as well as helping to prevent long Covid. The scientists I know advocate for better masks, not mask mandate removals. The scientists I know do not feel the decision to kill mask mandates was rooted in science. Let’s put it this way. It’s like we’re building a house, but have thrown away all our tools. Why? Who is Ford listening to? Why have they changed their narrative? I’m glad you asked. Could it possibly have anything to do with the upcoming elections?.

If we had a good system in place, one that was helping in keeping not only Covid, but many other respiratory illnesses at bay, with minimal effort and discomfort, why do away with it? Seriously. What would be so wrong about making masks a permanent measure indoors? We know we can’t trust people to do the right thing and simply mask up or not go out if they are sick. We’ve been doing this for years. People go to work sick, they send their kids to school sick and for many reasons, which are not always financial.

Doing away with something that people were used to will also trigger resistance shall the government have to backpedal and reinstate, which they will at some point. With the looming arrival of the BA.2 variant, it is bound to happen. Most health experts agree: this was too soon.

Controlling what you can

It is clear that we are on our own. Governments and politicians are clearly making decisions with the popular vote in mind. So what can we do? Well, I sound like a broken record, but…