The Unexpected Gifts of … COVID

I was standing in a supermarket line recently, wearing my mask, and 6 feet away from the people in front and in back of me, when I overheard pieces of a conversation. There were two women nearby having a conversation.  In a burst of laughter, one of the women said “Well, I guess that’s one of the gifts of Covid“.

It was such an odd remark. This pandemic has terribly disrupted the lives of so many people.  Too many have died from it, and it just seems like we could’ve done much better as a nation with this pandemic. Then I got to thinking, I have noticed some positive changes in people around me since this pandemic has taken up residence in the year 2020 and 2021. Perhaps some good can come out of this.  Here are some of the positive, unintended consequences of COVID that I have seen:

1.    Remember when going to work sick was considered valiant and showed how dedicated you were? Thank goodness that is no longer the case.  In the workplace, we are now encouraging people to take care of themselves. Until this year, I can’t remember the last time a boss encouraged me to take some time for myself; I don’t think that has ever happened before. We now accept that people need to be healthy to work at their best, and there is no shame in calling out when you don’t feel well. In fact, calling out is encouraged so as to not bring your germs to work.  And when a person does call out sick, the skepticism is now replaced by a genuine sense of concern. How nice is that?

2.    We are learning to stop taking things for granted.  We are thinking about our families and we miss them.  Before, we were trying to fit them into our work lives/schedules.  We are taking up forgotten hobbies and learning new ones.  Before, we had interest but could not find the time.  Before, many of us who were so immersed in our job that it has become our total identity, are discovering other aspects of ourselves as a result of working from home or being laid off.  With the frenzied work culture that is the United States, making time for the things that fulfill us is a good lesson for all of us to re-learn.

3.    People have finally learned the message that washing your hands is really important.  The single most important prevention for the spread of (any) disease is washing your hands. Those of us in the medical professions know this and have chanted this refrain for a very long time. Hospitals even monitor hand-washing compliance by having auditors secretly observe the hand washing behavior of others. Yet studies have shown that a large percentage of people just do the quick dip under running water, or don’t wash their hands at all after using the restroom.  Now we are washing our hands with warm, soapy water.  Remember – do it for 20 seconds (sing Happy Birthday twice).

4.    Not buying stuff we don’t need: I have a large cache of Amazon shipping boxes I’ve accumulated – this is the way we shop now.  I am not spending my time aimlessly wandering through stores and purchasing things I don’t need – nor am I spending my valuable, limited time in stores.  One valuable lesson of this pandemic is that our time is precious.

5.    There seems to be an increased appreciation and sensitivity to people working in the service industry.  People who work in restaurants, hair salons, and the like have been dealt a harsh blow due to COVID – they were completely unemployed for large spans of time and resumption of these mostly low- paying or gratuity-dependent jobs has been stifled due to continuing restrictions that are in place to manage COVID resurgence.  I have taken to over- tipping.  We need to help each other.

6.    Telehealth is finally getting traction.  Not only was insurer-paid telehealth for physician check-ups largely absent before COVID, insurers were remiss to pay for any provider activities outside of an in-person office visit – and quite a bit of provider activity occurs outside of visits.  For people to remain healthy through social distancing while continuing to tend to their medical concerns, alternatives became necessary and telehealth is filling that void. This is long overdue and we have had the ability to do this for years. We can’t go back. Telehealth has made healthcare more accessible and it must continue.

7.    During this crazy time, the Internet has been a lifesaver for many vital functions: healthcare, schooling, grocery shopping, meetings, and basic communication. We have also learned many new ways to use the internet. “Zoom” is now a verb. It is time for the Internet to be treated similar to a public utility: essential and available to all.

8.    The development of a COVID vaccine has brought with it tremendous advancements that changes the future of vaccine science for the better.  For one thing, the timeframe needed for new vaccine development to occur was typically around 2 to 4 years before.  The opportunity today is that the development of vaccines can be accelerated significantly without compromising safety. COVID-19 will not be the last global pandemic that we experience, even in our own lifetimes. However, the advantage is we should now be able to respond much more quickly to new pandemics and therefore lessen their impact tremendously.

9.    Mental health is losing some of its stigma.  Over these long months of dealing with a pandemic, it seems humans are being more kind to one another and recognizing that this situation is a lot to bear.  Feelings of depression, fatigue, isolation and despair are (finally) considered normal during times like this, and deserving of compassion and care.

10. Nothing is “weird” anymore. In the mad scramble to find new ways of doing things, we have learned to do many things differently, that would have seemed odd just a year ago. The least computer-capable individuals have become experts on Zoom. Masks are commonplace to the point that seeing someone without one is considered odd. This past summer, I saw bathing suits with matching masks being advertised! Snow days at school may have become a thing of the past now that teachers have become expert in the virtual classroom experience. By the way, because we all have been wearing masks, cases of the FLU are way down. 

When I make the list, there is no question that more bad has come from COVID than good in the loss of lives alone, as well as the disruption of so many lives. However, this time has also shown us how innovative, trusting, and thoughtful we can be. We can learn new things. We are resilient.

We are also more loving and there is statistical proof of that: another consequence of COVID is that the world adopted more puppies than ever in 2020!