COVID is not over and we are now half a decade into this global pandemic! COVID is not mild and everyone is at risk of the severe outcomes that are possible after infection. Disinformation, lack of direction and accountability from our governments and public health officials, and the lack of the public continuing to use tools like masking indoors and in crowded outdoor spaces because they were told it was safe, has led to millions of people still dying, developing chronic illnesses, and becoming disabled around the world. At the time I am writing this, It is currently estimated that at least 400 MILLION people globally and counting are currently living with Long COVID and an estimated 21 million people have been killed. Repeated SARS-CoV-2 infections increase your risk of developing Long COVID and worsening pre-existing conditions.

Long COVID is the continuation or development of new symptoms after an initial SARS-CoV-2 infection, the virus that causes COVID, with these symptoms lasting for at least 3 months. These symptoms can be relapsing and remitting, or progressive disease. Long COVID is an umbrella term for over 200+ symptoms ranging from debilitating fatigue, chronic cough, autonomic dysfunction, and post-exertional malaise (PEM).

SARS-CoV-2, is an airborne virus that can move through the air like smoke. The virus can infect cells in your major organ systems including your brain, kidneys, intestines, liver, bone marrow, blood vessels, and more. The immune system’s reaction to the virus can lead to widespread damaging inflammation throughout the body, can disrupt the normal functioning of immune cells and the immune system, make it easier for you to get sick from other illnesses, have trouble getting over illnesses, make changes to how your cells produce energy, disrupt your gut lining and microbiome and MANY other very serious outcomes regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, vaccination or socio-economic status. COVID IS NOT harmless to children and misinformation spread around this has harmed our children. We must protect their present and future from infections! Children are among the most marginalized and vulnerable members of our society and are rarely included in discussions about how our communities make decisions affecting them.

With the ability to damage the circulatory system and reproductive system, protecting yourself and others from SARS-CoV-2 is essential for fertility and conception pregnancy, postpartum, risk of miscarriage and stillbirth, and abortion.

As a society, we cannot continue to ignore and deny that there are significant long-term effects of a SARS-CoV-2 infection! In doing so, we are further normalizing mass death and disablement that is preventable and will continue unless we take action! We have the power to protect our communities by taking precautions.

SARS-CoV-2 infection and resulting Long COVID disproportionately affects many marginalized communities. Black, Indigenous, and people of the Global Majority, queer and trans folks, disabled, immunocompromised, chronically ill folks, elders, undocumented, refugee, poor, working class, incarcerated folks, sex workers, and our unhoused neighbors. This is due to the structural and systemic inequities in our society that contribute to us with marginalized identities being disproportionately affected by viruses and other pathogens and also the ability to prevent, treat, and recover from them, if possible.

With the majority of the population not taking COVID precautions, being in public spaces continues to be inaccessible for many disabled and chronically ill folks, who have every right to access public spaces! Precautions like masking in public places help ensure that disabled and immunocompromised people are supported and not shut out of society. We will not truly ever have liberated futures without disabled and chronically ill folks! Everyone deserves to be well and the wellness of all is interconnected. Viruses and other communicable pathogens are a great reminder of this. We all breathe the same air! This does not mean that you can’t be social and live your life but living your life should include taking the necessary precautions to protect yourself and your community. For public health to work, the community has to participate! We must also hold those accountable who have put profit over the lives of everyone globally! Your life is worth more than your productivity and ability to contribute to the economy!

We must also recognize the immense grief and loss caused by preventable deaths and widespread disablement that could have been if we had stronger systemic protections. Getting COVID is not a moral failure, it is a reflection of a public crisis that was made worse by neglect from institutions meant to protect us. We need to shift our focus from individual blame to collective action and imagining, demanding, and building toward a world where care, equity, and safety for all people are prioritized over profit and convenience.

We have tools that can be taken to reduce the spread of the virus. As unmitigated spread allows the virus to mutate and learn new ways to evade our immune systems, immunity formed from vaccination as well as from previous infection declines within months. Wearing a high-quality mask like a KN95/N95 or better in public, especially indoors and in crowded outdoor settings. Wear a mask even if you are not sick! COVID can spread asymptomatically so it is important to take precautions regardless of symptoms. A surgical mask is better than nothing and things like mask tape and braces can help create a better seal. If you are unable to mask for medical reasons, then you should be encouraging those around you to do so! Meet with folks outdoors, if possible, open windows, test regularly, isolate after risky exposures, be honest when you are not feeling well, update vaccination, require masks in all health care settings, air purifiers in schools and all public buildings, stay home when sick, and many other things would help reduce the spread of the virus as well as help protect you from other pathogens and environmental pollutants. Not everyone can stay home from work when they are sick so if you have the privilege to do so please do! An airborne disabling virus like SARS-CoV-2 is also a workplace hazard and you need to be provided with the proper PPE to protect yourself and others!

Taking COVID precautions is collective and community care, reproductive justice, birth justice, racial justice, disability justice, Land Back, climate justice, environmental justice, food justice and sovereignty, Queer and Trans justice, healing justice, housing justice, class solidarity, children’s rights, liberation for all oppressed people and much more! COVID intersects everything!

Our governments and public health officials have failed us by not providing the public with information on the true reality of this virus and tools to protect our communities. It shouldn’t be on us as individuals to protect ourselves!

There is still hope. We don’t have to accept endless cycles of infection and reinfection as inevitable. By embracing precautions we can protect ourselves and our communities. This moment also invites us to rethink how we view illness and disability, to challenge internalized ableism, and harmful narratives that equate rest with weakness and productivity with worth. Every life is valuable.

Even if we end up working together, I want to make sure that you, your family, your friends, and your community have resources to reduce your risk of infection and stay safe! Please do reach out if you have any further questions!

Sources

1.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03173-6

2.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-022-00846-2

3. COVID and pregnancy, COVID in kids, and COVID and the menstrual cycle sources compiled by Fertility awareness educator Jamie Murphy! You can find her on Instagram @followmybody and her website

4.https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/indoor-air-and-coronavirus-covid-19

5.https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/05/1136367

6.https://www.aamc.org/news/had-covid-recently-here-s-what-know-about-how-long-immunity-lasts-long-covid-and-more

7.https://sph.umd.edu/news/study-shows-n95-masks-near-perfect-blocking-escape-airborne-covid-19