I’m going to share a story about a friend of mine who works in the healthcare industry that I believe will shed some light on why things are so terrible right now with the pandemic. He has given me permission to share this as long as no individuals or companies are named.

My friend works as a technician in a hospital pharmacy that serves as a COVID testing site. Recently, a patient came in saying she desperately needed a test because she was traveling to see her relatives for the holidays. His colleague told her tests can only be scheduled online.

She said she would try to schedule a test but was worried she wouldn’t be able to get one in time. After she left, my friend suggested to his colleague that perhaps she could have advised her against traveling as COVID cases are currently spiking in cities across the country.

His colleague replied “not my business.” “What?” he asked. “It’s not my business to tell people what to do.” My friend struggled to maintain his composure. “Of course you don’t need to tell her what to do, but surely you could have mentioned that what she was planning was unsafe”

His colleague was defiant. “People are going to do what they’re going to do! And it’s not our place to tell them what to do!” My friend couldn’t comprehend this woman’s logic. “So if she told you she planned to down her entire bottle of pills, would you advise her against that?”

“That is completely different. Of course I would advise her against that.” “How is it different, though?” This woman came to a place that provides healthcare and was not advised against doing something that actively risked her life because “it wasn’t our place” to say something?

These kinds of situations are unfolding all across the U.S. Beyond the 20% who still believe COVID is a hoax despite 260K deaths, we have people in healthcare who for whatever reason simply cannot bring themselves to advise patients against putting themselves and others at risk.

My friend made it clear to his colleagues and superiors that he could not disagree more with this philosophy, and that as healthcare professionals—even without an oath to do no harm—they share a responsibility to advise people against putting their health and lives at risk.

He was essentially told that he is free to advise patients in this manner but that it would be up to each staff member how to handle these situations. My friend was despondent. He said we have a quarter million dead and providers won’t even tell people to reconsider their plans.

His story made me think about all the absurd arguments the right would make and continue to spout about how lockdowns and mask mandates were “infringements on their rights/freedoms/liberty” when really they are just basic common sense measures necessary to save their lives.

We are clearly not handling this pandemic well in America. And thanks to Trump, inept governors, the proliferation of mass disinformation, and the lack of so many of us taking this seriously even now, the numbers continue to get worse by the day.

So when calculating the “inconvenience” of rescheduling a trip or postponing a large family gathering, consider that millions of Americans are grieving the loss of loved ones whose lives were taken by this virus and they would likely give anything to go back and STAY HOME.

Is dining in at a restaurant a dire necessity? Going out to a bar or club? Working out at the gym? Going on a cruise or a trip to Vegas? Is it worth dying for? Because that’s what you’re risking. And people simply can’t seem to see things in these terms until it happens to them.

Please stay home when you can. Please wear a mask in public places at all times. Please do not travel for the holidays. Please do everything in your power to protect the lives of those you love the most as well as your own. This is what he asked me to share with you all.

Lastly, he wanted people to know that a majority of major healthcare companies like his who become aware of an employee who tests positive do not mandate that their fellow employees get tested. They leave it up to *them* to decide to do so of their own volition. Complete insanity

For a thread on how we got here, please see this one I wrote back in April that focuses specifically on all the ways Trump not only didn’t combat the pandemic, he actively sabotaged our response at every turn. And he is still doing so as we speak, from the golf course. https://twitter.com/amoneyresists/status/1248473670604881926