CCBI Resources for Covid-19 – January 29, 2021

Dear Friends of CCBI,

OH NO! The news of delayed shipments and low vaccination rates is trying the patience of Canadians especially since so much seems to be based on promises and assurances, rather than on hard facts. Quite apart from factory upgrades (the reason given for the Pfizer delay) there is now talk of the EU flexing some muscle in interfering with shipments destined for countries outside the union. Whether this is legal or fair is currently taking a back seat to urgent demands to fulfill delivery contracts by leaders of many vaccine-dependent countries. Canada is not amongst the front runners contractually, according to The Globe, (21st, to date)and we may be waiting for a long time. Time and money spent on the ill-fated Canadian-Sino vaccine did not help, as we have mentioned before a few times.

We are, however, still better off (or potentially so) than most. Vatican News tells us that the Pope has raised a valid and searching question in asking about our responsibility to other countries. How can we make sure there is some measure of social justice in the way that vaccines are distributed? If ‘he who pays the piper calls the tune,’ then it’s clear that poorer countries will be at the bottom of the list. Added to that dilemma are the pre-existing socio-economic problems in those countries of crowded housing, lack of sanitation, lack of good health care, etc. It is clear that the people in such countries are the most vulnerable, therefore have a more pressing claim to vaccines than most of us in more developed countries. We also need vaccines, of course, but should be at least as ardent in pursuing supplies for those more vulnerable as we are for ourselves! Michael Swan of The Catholic Register asked me that question a few days ago, and I had no good answer for it, except to say that as soon as Canadians are vaccinated, any surplus should go to one of those countries still awaiting vaccines. We must not hoard that surplus when others are still in need, and this should be brought to the attention of our federal and provincial ministers of health.

Canadians love to travel and often need to do so, for business and personal reasons. The pandemic has been with us for nearly a year, and while some countries banned international flights from arriving right from the start, with good results, Canada has been slow to develop a clear policy, regarding both unnecessary travel and demanding proof of testing before leaving countries of origin. Not everyone agrees about ways to handle the pandemic, but this approach has always seemed downright dangerous to me. Travellers have been arriving from all over the world all this time, and we’re only now asking people to provide negative tests before flying here? News of the highly infective virus variants now showing up in this country should make us even more aware of lax air travel practices. They have been traced to specific countries by name, yet Canada has not moved swiftly enough to change its policies. It’s easy to be a computer-based politician, I admit that, but WHY is government so slow to act in situations where they do have some control? The Globe’s article, January 25, illustrates this tortoise approach. The Finance Minister states: “Given the virulence of the virus in the world today our government absolutely is looking seriously and carefully at measures to further guarantee the toughness of our border measures.”  In January 2021??

As the number of people in long-term care homes who have died from COVID-19 reached 3000 in Ontario alone, more people are calling for speedier and stricter enforcement of regulations, for better pay and conditions for health care workers and staff, and for a complete overhaul of those homes where living arrangements are inadequate at the best of times and impossible when a pandemic strikes. Some are also calling for an end to for-profit homes, given that the numbers of those infected and the death rate is strikingly higher than in others. At Roberta Place Long Term Care Home in Barrie, Ontario, every resident has tested positive and strains of the UK variant have been found, while close to 50 residents have died. Requiescant in pace!

In an interview with CBC’s Metro Morning, Dr Naheed Dosani, a leading advocate for palliative care in general and for the homeless and marginalized, said: “When you think about for-profit homes, they’re by design created to have one thing in mind and that’s profits for shareholders. It’s not care for our seniors…This is a humanitarian crisis.” He is joined by more than 215 Ontario doctors and researchers who have joined the “Doctors for Justice in Long-Term Care” campaign. Let’s hope they are joined by many more doctors so that the Ontario government as well as other provincial governments will pay much more attention.

A moving article in Toronto Life by Dr Abdu Sharkawy brings home the trials, tensions, grief and loss that COVID19 brings to patients and to those incredible frontline workers who are giving their all in caring for them. Increasingly we are becoming more aware of the mental health struggles that are arising on many fronts during the pandemic, and next week we plan to focus on this issue. In the meantime, please read this article. It is an honest outline of what it’s like to be a doctor working directly with COVID-19 patients, but first what shines through is his humanity as he interacts with dying patients, trying to console them as much as possible in the absence of their loved ones, sometimes overcoming even language differences. His actions speak to good ‘doctoring’ and caring for patients, of course, but it’s more than that: it is mercy, to the highest degree. I may not be able to imitate his actions, but I can learn from him. It changes my perspective on my tendency to complain about the slow rollout of vaccines, about remaining church-less and mostly house-bound, about not being able to travel – some of which I wrote about in the preceding paragraphs. Memo to self: Get a grip! Pray harder and take some action on behalf of our healthcare and frontline workers! Follow basic rules for safety and thank God and our clergy for online Masses and Liturgies! Take some action in writing or emailing politicians about some concerns, say over long-term care! Inform myself better about mental health questions and how individuals can help! Join groups of like-minded professionals or advocates for change in under-resourced areas! There are many more actions, and doubtless readers of this Bulletin are involved in many of those ways. We can be inspired by people such as Dr Sharkawy, Dr Dosani and many other leading humanitarians who spend their days trying to save and heal individual sufferers, at the same time raising flags to encourage action on social and mental health fronts, so needed for the common good of our society.

Our Lady, Health of the Sick, pray for us!

That we should be at the service of fraternity, let us pray to the Lord!

(Pope Francis’ intention for January)

Moira and Bambi

Globe and Mail
Canada seeking reassurance as Europe mulls export controls on COVID-19 vaccines

Ottawa targets tougher travel restrictions to slow surge of COVID-19

Vatican News
Misereor raises alarm: 13 percent of the world’s population secures half of Covid-19 vaccines

Toronto Life
Dispatches from the second wave
As an infectious diseases specialist working in the Covid ward, I’m often the only person my patients see, touch or talk to for weeks at a time. We develop real friendships—which makes it all the more devastating when they die