Who is to blame if your child gets COVID19?

The truth is, it is no one's fault

Recently, I saw another angry tweet by a physician.

First, I hope the child makes a quick and full recovery. Given how COVID affects kids, I am optimistic that will be the case. Next, it is important to consider the emotions and arguments here because “Hate” is a strong word. Hate can lead to policy errors.

More than anything, the doctor’s tweet tells us why every person on earth will get COVID19 in the short term, and why we will all be infected multiple times. Vaccination cannot stop spread, as the tweet shows. And even if you mask religiously and eat all your meals outside— you can still get COVID19. Respiratory pathogens have evolved to spread amongst humans because part of what it means to be human is to be close to one another.

Ultimately, it is no one’s “fault” that any child gets covid. It wasn’t anyone’s fault when a kid got a cold in 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, or even 2019, so why should we hate others in 2022?

The truth is some people disagree about the evidence supporting community masking not because they want the virus to hurt people, but because they read the studies, and the studies are negative. I am one of these people. After reading hundreds of studies, I wrote a systematic review on the topic. But even if you assumed some modest efficacy (5%, 10%. — PS the true effect is 0%) and even if you assume every human on earth was as strict a masker as the doctor— the child would still get covid because of the fact the interaction will be repeated. Roll a 20 sided die long enough, and you will eventually get “20.”

There has been a lot of incorrect information or misinformation throughout this pandemic. Some comes from fringe elements who deny the virus exists, think that 5G internet caused the virus, think that vaccines make you completely sterile, that Bill Gates put a microchip in them, and a host of other bizarre allegations. But other misinformation comes from the CDC, who has lied repeatedly about the efficacy of masking, failed to run randomized studies, obscured the risk of myocarditis, failed to tailor vaccine dosing and # to age and gender, and generally lied about the risk to kids— ruining 2+ school years, costing countless damage.

This doctor HATES the people who offered misinformation. I can only assume he means those who disparaged vaccines and masking. But this is illogical. It is clear that no amount of vaccination could halt spread. It is also clear that masking cannot stop the virus— after all the doctor and his child masked all the time, and ate outdoors. The truth is the virus was destined to spread. Even if 100% of US people got vaccinated, and 100% wore n95s, his child would still get COVID. So why hate?

One of the core values of Medicine is not to hate anyone. You don’t hate the smoker who develops lung cancer, the alcoholic who develops cirrhosis, the IV drug user who gets endocarditis. You understand that people are the product of more than their own choices— the product of a system— you care for them as best you can.

And, medicine has never been a zero risk profession. We put needles and scalpels into patients with communicable disease, and sometimes we cut ourselves. (Its happened to me). I didn’t sign up for this job because I wanted to avoid risk. I signed up for it because life is short, and I want to the most good I can with the time I have.

Given these 2 values of medicine, it strikes me as odd to see doctors hate other people for illness that arrives in their house. It really isn’t anyone’s fault, and hate is not a productive emotion.

Why has COVID policy been so bad? Why did we close schools robbing millions of kids of their future—poor kids especially? Why did we push the global economy to the brink of ruin? Why do we have runaway inflation and supply chain disruption? And why do we hate “those people” who promote misinformation— aka the misinformation we dislike?

The doctor’s tweet shows us how polarized and angry we are. If we don’t regain our senses, we may yet destroy ourselves. Good COVID policy and good medicine happens when you can think dispassionately about a problem. I fear many people were bad at COVID policy because they lost control of their emotions.