âYou donât have to wear a mask hereâ
Ever since hospitals dropped mandates, healthcare workers have been pressuring patients to remove their mask.
They say itâs not needed, itâs safe, âyou wonât get covid hereâ
I watched this happen in a high risk cardiac clinic recently
I was wearing my N99 like I always do, and wasnât willing to take it off.
Iâm used to the questions, eye rolls and stares. Iâm confident enough to tell them that my mask wonât be removed for any reason.
But what about those who arenât as informed?
An elderly woman entered the clinic just after me.
She was wearing the hospital provided surgical mask.
She was trying to protect herself.
They told her âyou donât need thatâ. She looked confused. Why would the hospital provide them if they werenât needed?
She said âI donât mind wearing itâ and the healthcare worker refused to drop it.
Told her that it wasnât necessary and she should remove it.
So she did.
It broke my heart to watch.
This person clearly didnât want to get sick. She was clearly in a vulnerable group. She was trying to do the right thing.
But she trusted the healthcare worker because theyâre supposed to be the experts.
Theyâre supposed to care about our health.
Theyâre supposed to protect us
I think of her whenever I see a healthcare worker mocking maskers on social media.
Their anger and vitriol towards patients who mask left me wondering how many times theyâve convinced someone to go without protection.
How many times have they been the reason someone got sick?
A doctor willing to post something like that has given up on even the appearance of caring for their patients.
A good doctor would be encouraging respirator use, not mocking those taking precautions.
This is why we still see so much death and disability from COVID.
Because even those who 100% should know better have decided that the lives of their patients mean less than their own personal comfort.
Theyâve decided some death & disability is âacceptableâ
Itâs not. We canât accept this as the norm. We shouldnât be infected in the place weâre forced to go to access care.
Healthcare workers should be leaders. They should be demonstrating how to avoid infection.
They should strive to keep their patients safe.
Clean air and respirators are not a big ask in healthcare settings.
Letâs save lives.
âŠ#COVIDisAirborne #covidisnotover #wearamask #keepmasksinhealthcare #disability #ableism #eugenics