by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist (read the original in Noozhawk by clicking here)
Lately I’ve been reflecting on the effects of the pandemic on some of our time’s most important challenges. Beyond lives and livelihoods lost and the psychological trauma of families facing those devastations, some of society’s difficult issues have become even more precarious.
The pandemic has ripped the bandages off festering wounds from the environment to community to health care.
One obvious by-catch of COVID-19 is burgeoning trash — plastics in particular. Just as many of us were succeeding in trading consumer-intensive habits for reducing, reusing and recycling, we were suddenly thrown back into the era of single-use bags, take-out meals in plastic containers, and masks.
Sidewalks, parks and beaches were strewn with pandemic litter.
I witnessed these environmental effects most intensely on the days I volunteered at Cottage Health’s Goleta vaccination clinic. As a “roadrunner,” my most important job was keeping my teams supplied with bandages, gloves, vaccines, and date-stamped vaccination cards.
I prepped the supplies and completed forays to the pharmacological and clinical support tents to replenish them.
The trash, while necessary, was discouraging. It occurred to me that when this time recedes to a layer for archeologists to examine, the pandemic-years layer will be noticeably thicker. Our era will be like the tree rings marked by wet rain years.
Covid has further exposed the healthcare gap in the United States. Barbara Ferrer, Los Angeles County’s public health director, lamented that in predominantly Black and Latino areas like Watts and Boyle Heights, an astounding 16%-20% of the residents contracted COVID-19.
Moreover, by mid-February a quarter of Beverly Hills and Bel-Air residents had received at least one vaccine, compared to one in 21 in Compton.
While no socioeconomic group has been spared the pandemic, wealthier families are more likely to have healthcare insurance, sick leave to cope with family illness, and the means to have saved emergency funds.
Fortunately, the pandemic occurred years after passage of the Affordable Care Act, which reduced the percentage of non-elderly uninsured from around 17% down to 10%. However, the uninsured rate overall has been ticking up each year since 2017, following some states’ reductions in Medicaid. Financial recovery from this healthcare crisis will be years in coming for the poor.
Finally, the pandemic has laid bare what might be called the media information gap. The way we now self-curate information channels, absorbing only what we want to consume, is a detriment to society as a whole.
Countless lives and livelihoods were lost when many Americans eschewed mask-wearing, distancing and vaccinations based on inaccurate, biased information.
Volunteering at vaccination clinics reduced my own information gap. Most people who signed up for vaccines, especially at the earlier clinics, were thrilled to be getting their shot in the arm. However, I overheard a few who had overcome quite a bit of reluctance to come.
What was an obvious path for me was — for a few — a path strewn with potential potholes. Underlying health conditions, fear of side effects, and distrust based on historical mistreatment all played into others’ decisions. This was eye-opening for me.
The silver lining in these Covid by-catch issues is their current exposure to the glaring light. I am hopeful this spotlight will allow individuals and groups to claim these challenges and resolve them for humanity’s benefit.
Perhaps COVID-19 will be the shot in the arm for the upcoming generation to set us on new and better paths.
Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist
Karen Telleen-Lawton is an eco-writer, sharing information and insights about economics and ecology, finances and the environment. Having recently retired from financial planning and advising, she spends more time exploring the outdoors — and reading and writing about it. The opinions expressed are her own.More by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist