Avoiding COVID-37
Being in healthcare during the pandemic was not fun. It was hard. It was hard for a lot of reasons. It was hard because we saw people dying. Young, healthy people, people who weren’t “supposed” to die. We saw patients with oxygen saturation levels far below what we had ever seen in conscious patients. Normally, less than 90% was a serious cause for concern, while unconsciousness would be likely for levels less than 85%. But with COVID, we were seeing awake and talking (though struggling to breathe) patients with oxygen sats in the 20% range. That was unheard of! Yet, there they were. Gasping for air, begging for help.
Intubate ’em, send ’em to the ICU, move to the next one. That was the name of the game in the ER. That’s all we could do. That’s all anyone knew how to do in the beginning.
No Answers
It was terrifying because nobody could tell us exactly how the virus spread, so we had no way of knowing how to protect ourselves. Does it spread through the air? Blood? Droplets from coughs? Does it live on surfaces? If so, for how long? Do our standard disinfecting wipes kill it? Can it spread through the air conditioning? What about through the water system? So many questions that the whole world was struggling to answer. Conflicting information, misinformation, fighting politicians, changing guidelines — no real answers. No evidence. We were flying blind. The whole world was just making it up as we went along, doing the best we could with the limited information we had at the time.
No PPE
Even if we had known how to protect ourselves in the beginning, a lot of us didn’t even have access to the right Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). We all experienced an immediate depletion of the N95 mask inventory. Facilities ran out of isolation gowns and disinfecting wipes. Other facilities reported shortages of seemingly simple items, like IV tubing or saline solution bags. Still, we were all expected to improvise and carry on. We had patients to care for, after all. The whole world was told to stay home and isolate, but not us — we were told that we “signed up for this.”
Bad PPE
Once the PPE came, we had to deal with getting them from our facilities. Some places locked up masks and required us to “check them out.” If we wanted a new one, we would have to provide a rationale and give back the dirty old one. Never mind that the manufacturers label these products as “single use only” and warn to not reuse them. Never mind that they warn against using them between different patients. Doesn’t matter that they are only rated to filter for a certain number of hours. “Reuse them until they fall apart” is what we were told. That’s not a joke.
Most of us were told by our facilities that we didn’t even need N95 masks and that simple paper masks would suffice. Common medical advice would be that in the lack of evidence, take the most precautions. If the scientists didn’t know what kind of masks would protect us, we should have been using the most protective ones, the N95s. But, not in COVID times. Now, all of that was out the window. We were given paper masks and were told to deal with it. Some of us took it upon ourselves to purchase reusable protective respirators. Fine, we thought, it’ll be up to us to take care of ourselves. It wasn’t long before the hospital administration told us that we were not allowed to wear them because they were not hospital-issued and were “scaring the patients.” So, not only were they not protecting us with their equipment, they were actively blocking us from protecting ourselves.
Other supplies we received were not even meant for medical professionals. Some of what we got was repurposed equipment from other occupations. Some gowns were designed for HAZMAT, so they were thick, making it hard to maneuver and overheated us by insulating our body heat. Some were for industrial metal workers, so they weren’t fluid resistant. Some were intended for light housework, so they were thin and easily torn and left our arms exposed.
Do I feel great about complaining about the available PPE? No. Because at least we eventually had some, unlike other places. But we weren’t supposed to be wearing PPE meant for welders, painters, and bomb techs.
This wasn’t “what we signed up for.” We signed up to help patients, not to put our own lives on the line. Sure, we knew when we got into nursing that we would have to deal with infectious diseases. But we were taught the evidence-based ways to protect ourselves. Follow these steps, they said, and you can safely treat people with anything from the flu to Ebola.
But what if the equipment isn’t available? They weren’t prepared for that. Nobody was. And it was us who took the hit for it. We watched as the virus killed our own coworkers.
No Staff
Any reasonable person would assume that the hospitals rapidly increased staffing to help. You’d think even the administrators were on the front lines doing bedside nursing. After all, this was all hands on deck. Nope! Instead, they cut staffing because initially, the number of patients coming to the hospital declined. The average citizens were afraid to come to the hospital out of fear of catching the virus.
With fewer patients, the hospitals could cut staffing numbers. When the government mandated that non-emergency and elective surgeries be cancelled to conserve PPE, operating rooms were shut down and staff was furloughed. Doctors and nurses were sent home without pay. Even our cafeteria workers were cut. When COVID spiked, these staff members were not brought back quickly enough to help. Hospitals were already understaffed before COVID, and were therefore hit harder because of additional staffing cuts.
Bad Politics
But besides all that, it was hard because we were fighting against false information and ignorance. Somehow, mask-wearing and handwashing became politicized. For some, it was a badge of honor and a demonstration of freedom to be maskless, or maybe worse, purposely wear non-protective masks because “it’s not about safety. It’s all about compliance.”
Healthcare workers around the world were at first called heroes but were quickly shunned. The same people who worked in unacceptable and terrifying conditions — running towards an invisible and potentially deadly enemy — were now being attacked for wearing scrubs in public. They thought either we were dirty, or they thought we were part of some conspiracy to take away their freedoms.
Medical professionals who dedicated their lives to the study of infectious agents and public safety were mocked and blatantly ignored. Based on politics, the leaders of the US were not united. Based on red or blue, left or right, we allowed ourselves to be divided. Science shouldn’t be politicized. When we should have followed the guidance of medical professionals, we ran amok.
People argued that the mandatory shut down of businesses was unconstitutional. People love to throw that word around. Unconstitutional. Here’s a link to the Constitution. Show me where it says that the government can’t shut down businesses in an effort to protect citizens against a pandemic. Hint: it’s not in there. In fact, here’s a whole webpage explaining how it is legal and actually the government’s responsibility to issue quarantines.
The guidance changed as the data came in, but overall, it was consistent: stay home if you can, wash your hands, and wear a mask if you have to be around other people. That’s basic hygiene. That’s simply how to prevent the spread of most pathogens. How is this controversial?
Bad Outlook
The overwhelming probability is that COVID-19 will not be the only pandemic of our lifetime. Viruses cross over from animals to humans more than we are aware of. Sometimes they don’t cause much harm and just give people a cold. Sometimes they aren’t easily spread, so they don’t affect many people.
“We remain at risk for the foreseeable future…COVID-19 is among the most vivid wake-up calls in over a century. It should force us to begin to think in earnest and collectively about living in more thoughtful and creative harmony with nature, even as we plan for nature’s inevitable, and always unexpected, surprises.” — Anthony Fauci
However, it’s only a matter of time before a deadly combination occurs. With a global economy and worldwide travel, something new will inevitably surface. And we will be back to square one. Maybe it’ll spread faster and have a higher kill rate. Maybe next time it will affect the water supply. Maybe it will affect people’s brains. We won’t know until it happens.
What you can be sure of is this: we’ll be there. Maybe next time, we’ll have prepared for it. Maybe the hospitals and the government will have stockpiled PPE for distribution. Maybe the citizens will listen to — and actually follow — the instructions of the professionals.
We can’t really avoid COVID-37. But we can do some things to prevent it from causing a mass extinction. Plan ahead. Be smart. Listen to the professionals. (And maybe don’t buy all the toilet paper.)
The events and details contained in this article are not intended to represent any specific facility, hospital, corporation, etc. These details were compiled from collective worldwide occurrences.
David I. Mancini is a Registered Nurse and a Licensed Paramedic. He’s a tech enthusiast, world traveler, and an eclectic eater. www.davidmancini.xyz.
