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In times of great stress, compassion can be in short supply. Even when faced with a public health crisis as far-reaching as COVID-19, many people refuse to see past their own self-interest. However, expressing compassion throughout this difficult period not only stands to make you and your loved ones safer, but can also actively contribute to public health. While there’s no question that stress is currently in ample supply, there are a number of ways you can express compassion and encourage others to pay it forward.
Get Your Vaccine
Even though the novel coronavirus represents a significant threat to every person on the planet, many people simply aren’t concerned about it. However, regardless of how worried you personally are about contracting COVID-19, you have no right to place other people’s health at risk. You may believe that you’d survive the virus with no long-term effects, but will the people you infect be as lucky? In the interest of protecting your health and the health of the people with whom you live, work and interact, get your COVID-19 vaccine posthaste – unless, of course, you have a medical condition that makes vaccination unsafe. COVID-19 vaccines are available free of charge and administered at an expansive array of medical facilities and pharmacies. By extension, you can also show compassion to those in dire need by taking part in charitable causes, like events at which participants are able to give blood.
Continue Taking Precautions
Selfishness has been one of the biggest hindrances to progress throughout every stage of this pandemic. First, people couldn’t be troubled to wear masks, stay home or practice social distancing measures. Now, they can’t be troubled to get a free, readily available vaccine. Time and time again, millions of Americans have proven that they’re unwilling to do the bare minimum to protect public health. The way these people see it, the pandemic only matters insomuch as it personally affects them – and if their reckless behavior results in new infections, they couldn’t care less.
With many states now placing residents on the honor system with regard to masking up, the same people who never took COVID-19 seriously have opted to remove their masks despite not being vaccinated or having any intention of getting vaxxed. Such behavior is largely responsible for the sizable uptick in infections and deaths certain areas have experienced throughout the summer.
In stark contrast to these individuals, you can show compassion to your fellow citizens by continuing to don a mask and practice social distancing measures in public spaces. Even if you’re fully vaccinated, such measures help minimize your risk of developing a breakthrough infection or spreading virus particles to others. Keep in mind that while the vaccines are extremely effective at preventing serious and fatal cases of COVID-19, they are not magical shields against the novel coronavirus, and as is the case with other viruses, breakthrough infections are entirely possible.
Encourage Others to Get Vaccinated
Although some medical conditions preclude people from getting vaccinated, the vast majority of us don’t suffer from conditions and should therefore get vaccinated against COVID-19. That being the case, if you have any friends, family members or close acquaintances who have yet to receive their vaccines, try your best to steer them in the right direction.
Many cases of vaccine hesitancy can be attributed to rampant misinformation, which has been a huge problem throughout this troubling period. To help correct their thinking, point any misinformed friends or relatives in the direction of the CDC’s and World Health Organization’s respective websites. Additionally, show them a variety of stat charts and graphs for new infections and fatalities for vaccinated people vs. unvaccinated people. With weaponized misinformation at an all-time high, it’s possible that you won’t be able to convince these individuals to do the right thing, but by trying, you’ll have worked in the interest of public health.
It isn’t hard to see why compassion is always in short supply when it’s needed most. When faced with relentlessly stressful situations, many of us focus our attention inward and only care about what’s best for us. While there’s no denying that self-care is important, caring for ourselves shouldn’t come at the cost of actively hurting or endangering other people. Unfortunately, millions of Americans have decided that their personal needs are more important than public health, and as a result, the COVID-19 pandemic has raged on in spite of the ready availability of vaccines. To help counteract such selfishness and shortsightedness, put the measures discussed above to good use.
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