Breathe
By Aidée Zamorano
It is no longer 2020 to wash every supermarket purchase, put down sanitizing mats and fill offices with antibacterial gel. It is the fall of 2024, but it seems that the understanding of COVID has made little progress. Many people still believe that the cold "causes" respiratory illness or, worse, that COVID is just a "little cold".
Poor risk communication can cause a public health disaster, and the misinformation about SARS-CoV-2 is a clear example. I have not recovered from the crisis unleashed by the irresponsible communication of the WHO (World Health Organization) when it announced the end of the health emergency in 2023, leaving a false sense of security. Since then, I am sick and tired of explaining why I use mouth covers. This week, I quit a project because of the insistence to take it off; between the microaggressions and ignorance disguised as jokes ("with that smile, you shouldn't cover it!"), I got tired. In the end, I said, "I'm part of the at-risk population, and so are my children," and with that, they shut up. What they didn't want to understand is that all people are vulnerable to risk from COVID.
Wearing masks is an extra layer of protection for everyone. We now know that SARS-CoV-2 is airborne, NOT saliva-borne, not contact-borne, nor does it enter through shoes. The virus is in the air that an infected person exhales. My friend, Dr. Veronica Athié, describes it perfectly, "Think of COVID like cigarette smoke; even if the people who smoked are no longer in the same room as you, the smell is still there, and with the virus it's the same, only unfortunately you can't smell it."
Veronica implemented a risk management protocol in several private schools in the CDMX, with natural ventilation, CO₂ monitoring, use of masks and even with the construction of windows and constant education for staff, families and students, they kept the school free of internal outbreaks until the end of the 2022-2023 cycle.
So why do we continue to question the use of face masks, especially in enclosed spaces such as public transportation, theaters, movie theaters, classrooms, supermarkets, and so on? Wearing them is in our best interest.
No, COVID is not a seasonal virus. It is a multisystemic disease that generates inflammation in vital organs. Today in the U.S. there are more than 6 million children with Long Covid; in Spain, the number reaches 600,000, and in Mexico, we have no data.
Will it be easier to wear face masks or deal with a special care crisis that seems inevitable? Which country will be able to care for the people this silent virus will leave with multiple disabilities?
If it's cold, it's time to open doors, open windows and put on a mask.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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