First I want to tell you about drowning. I currently work as a professional lifeguard, so drowning is something I’ve had to study.
As we understand it, drowning is a process. Specifically it is asphyxiation due to submersion or immersion in water. A person who has drowned will have one of three outcomes: survival with no lasting injury, survival but with permanent injury (usually to the brain), or death. The likeliness of the first and most preferable option is greatly increased by quick administration of rescue breathing. This is called interrupting the drowning process, and until it happens the person will keep drowning until they die, and the longer it takes to happen, the less likely they are to survive without impairment.
There’s a lot of disinformation going around in regards to the novel virus SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19, and I wasn’t aware of how criminally inaccurate some of it was until I was standing in line outside Les Schwab yesterday, waiting to get my tires changed, and I heard the people behind me saying things like “oh, it’s just a conspiracy theory to scare people,” “it’s not any different than the regular flu,” and so on. They were really enjoying their misinformation, and were just getting into the “I heard it came from animals that were used to develop bio-weapons being sold for meat” topic when I interrupted the disinformation process with some firmly delivered rescue facts.
“The problem with COVID-19,” I said, “is that its highly contagious and a novel virus, so we have no vaccine, and no natural immunity. It’s a respiratory disease, and most people will recover. The danger is that it has a relatively high likelihood of developing into pneumonia.”
They knew about the pneumonia. “Oh yes,” one said. “But isn’t it only about as fatal as the flu? Like only 2%!”
“It does have a mortality rate of 2%,” I said. “But the flu is closer to .02%. Or .01%,” I added, after my mom (who I had on the phone in my earbuds, hidden under my hat, and who had been listening in like my own information handler) corrected me.
That gave them pause.
“So it is a bit more dangerous,” one said.
“Yes,” I said, and was about to tell them about how we can mitigate the crisis by slowing the spread of the disease when another said,
“But we’ll have a vaccine soon!”
“Estimated time for a vaccine is mid 2021,” I told him.
“So, this summer?” he said.
“No,” another said. “She said 2021.”
“Oh,” he said. “We’re f*cked.”
“Wash your hands, people!” I said, and then it was my turn at the counter. Everyone laughed.
I don’t know if they took my words to heart. I don’t know if they took the initiative to go corroborate what I’d said and educate themselves.
But I do know that for those five minutes they got to hear facts instead of conspiracy theories. The misinformation they had been receiving was interrupted.
It can be temping to want to argue someone fully around to your point of view, especially if their point of view is heavily influenced by lies and propaganda, but this usually backfires because they get defensive. People don’t like to be made to feel stupid.
But if you can catch them at a weak spot, when they are uncertain, and give them solid information, it can be enough to shift them, just enough, onto a track that can lead them to the truth.
Rescue breaths don’t always work. Sometimes we need chest compressions and an AED. Sometimes the person never wakes up. Sometimes we do everything right, and they still die.
But sometimes all it takes is a couple rounds of rescue breaths and they sit up and walk away with no impairment.
You need a lot of ongoing training to work as a first responder, but to interrupt the misinformation process all you need to do is stay informed. Juliana Grant, a preventative medicine physician and infectious disease epidemiologist, wrote an excellent post on best practices during a pandemic, which echoes much of the information in this excellent article from Scientific American. I highly recommend you read one or both, as they will arm you not only against the actual pandemic we are about to experience, but give you facts you can deliver to interrupt the disinformation process among people who have not. But here are the points I have found most helpful:
- Prepare, don’t panic: keep about 2 week’s worth of food on hand, extra toilet paper, pet food, etc. If you can, refill your prescription meds. But infrastructure is unlikely to be interrupted, so you don’t have to hoard or stockpile.
- Don’t travel unnecessarily. Some of us have to. Some of us have to go into crowded places and put ourselves at risk. Do what you can for yourself to mitigate the risk posed to others.
- Wash your hands with soap and water or use alcohol-based sanitizers: these will destroy the protective lipid coating around the virus and effectively sanitize your hands. Do this after using the bathroom, before eating or touching your face, and if your hands are visibly dirty.
- As an adjunct to 3: you can wear gloves for using public transport, or if you have to handle things that have been handled by unknown persons. Wash these gloves every night in warm soapy water.
- Get your flu shot. No, it won’t protect you against COVID-19, but it will protect you against contracting COVID-19 and influenza at the same time.
- If you do get sick, then you may use a face mask to protect other people from your germs. You don’t need a fancy medical mask: a cloth bandana or balaclava will do.
- Protect yourself according to your status. COVID-19 is much more deadly among older and immunocompromised people, and people with pre-existing conditions. If you are one of these, protect yourself. Use deliveries. Fancy masks. Get treatment if you can. All those resources low-risk people are trying to conserve? Those are for you. Use them.
- If you have the bandwidth, check in on your friends and neighbors. See if they need help. Help if you can.
- Finally, stay informed. Dr Grant recommends only getting information from either the CDC or your state health department, and I agree.
And I’ll close with something that is always relevant, but now more than ever: before rendering aid, make sure it is safe to do so.
If helping someone puts you at risk—physically, emotionally, or financially—don’t do it. Preserve yourself, and only help if it is safe to do so.
But still, help if you can.
Good luck. If you see me at Emerald City Comic Con (if we don’t get a travel ban), I’ll be doing foot-taps, butt-bumps, and lots of waving, but no hugs. I’ll be wearing gloves, and I’ll be carrying Purell.