As Masks Come Off, Immunocompromised Americans Feel Left Behind

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🗓️ 1 March 2022

⏱️ 15 minutes

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Summary

The latest CDC guidance puts nearly 70% of the U.S. population in low or medium risk areas, and residents are no longer expected to wear a mask. In response, the vast majority of states in the U.S. have lifted or plan to lift mask mandates.

While many Americans welcome the loosening of pandemic-era safety rules, people who are higher risk feel forgotten and left behind. Johnnie Jae is an Indigenous journalist and public speaker; Charis Hill is a disability activist; and Cass Condray is a university student. The three explain what it's like to be immunocompromised and chronically ill during the pandemic, and what can be done to allow them to better live their lives.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	So the latest CDC guidance puts nearly 70% of the U.S. population in the green,
0:06.5	which means those areas are considered low or medium risk and residents are no longer
0:12.9	expected to wear masks. With Omacron, we have many, many more cases than we have hospitalizations.
0:18.9	That CDC director, Rochelle Wollensky, last Friday. And so many, many of our infections did not
0:25.0	result in severe disease. It did not result in increased hospital capacity. And it was in that
0:30.4	context that we made the pivot. That pivot includes schools where masking is no longer generally mandated.
0:37.6	In response, states like California and New York are planning to drop their school mask mandates
0:43.3	in the coming days. While others, they made the change immediately. The Maryland State Board of
0:48.1	Education voted to lift school mask mandates all across the state. Even states with some of the
0:52.6	strictest mandates have begun to loosen their rules. Oregon and Washington announced that mask
0:58.8	requirements will be lifted indoors in public spaces. And that includes K through 12 schools
1:04.4	at the end of next week. As the Omacron surge continues to decline, many have been eager to
1:12.0	ditch their masks. For many other Americans, though, ditching COVID safety precautions is a really
1:18.0	scary prospect. I have been living with Lupus since I was nine years old. That's Johnny J.
1:24.8	She's an indigenous journalist and public speaker and founder of the website, a tribe called Geek.
1:31.4	She says Lupus has affected her heart, her lungs, and kidneys. I do have Lupus onset diabetes.
1:39.0	And right now I'm just getting over shingles. So it's kind of been a nightmare.
1:43.7	J says from the beginning of the pandemic, she knew that she would have to be especially careful.
1:50.1	I was told right off that if I were to get COVID, my chances of survival would be less than 15%.
1:56.0	Consider this. Millions of people in the US have weakened immune systems, illnesses or
2:02.0	disabilities that put them at higher risk for severe coronavirus infection. For them, quarantine
2:08.8	never ended. While many Americans welcomed the loosening of COVID-era safety rules,
	...

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