Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Anita and the Covid Vaccine

 


The second Sunday of Advent may have been dedicated to Hope, but yesterday was Hope Monday as the first vaccinations against COVID-19 took place in Canada. These occurred in several provinces and in Ontario the first person to get jabbed was Anita Quidangan, a Personal Support Worker, or PSW. Anita has been doing this selfless and essential work for 30 years, and I imagine that the past nine months have seemed like a decade, all in their own. 

When I saw her face and then her name I wondered if she was originally from the Philippines, and that is the case. There are tens of thousands of Filipinos in Canada who work in roles such as this, as well as childcare. They often live far away from their families and a portion of their modest incomes is sent home to support loved ones. 

We now realize that many of the people in Canada who do the work which requires physical contact with the vulnerable, as well as countless more who are in service industries are immigrants. They can't work from home, as so many have been advised to do,  and as a result their neighbourhoods and communities have much higher rates of COVID. 

Sadly, areas in the Greater Toronto Area such as Peel Region are vilified for their soaring rates of infection. Some unfairly blame cultures which have multi-generational families in one home, or large family weddings, or religious celebrations such as Diwali. The bigger picture shows that areas such as Peel are home to lots of people who do the work we don't want to do, and which are much riskier in terms of transmission of the virus. 

As the monumental task of vaccinating this nation gets underway we might pray for those who will be on the front lines of serving others for months before the program is fulfilled. And as a healthy and "young senior" (yes, I am an oxymoron!) I would be content for a lot of these folk to get the vaccines before me. I have the privilege of abundant caution and even isolation, if need be. 

We can keep in mind the powerful gospel image of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples the evening before his crucifixion. PSW's such as Anita are doing this, literally, day in and day out. 

We don't need to bang on pots and pans to express our gratitude, but prayers of thanks for these quietly courageous workers sure makes sense to me.

Thoughts? 




2 comments:

roger said...

Yes, I am thankful for people like her who are putting themselves at risk each and every day at work, while many are able to work from home(or are retired!).

I was thankful for the workers at the Extendicare where my Dad lived, and I'm thankful for the grocery store workers who are handling cash and dealing with hundreds of customers daily.

I feel for those who must take public transit - especially on the overcrowded TTC streetcars, where there are still morons who are not wearing masks(why are they even allowed on?). They are often lower-paid workers who have no choice but to take that mode of transportation.

And I am especially thankful that there is a vaccine on its way. Like you, David, I am perfectly content to hang back and wait my turn. Just the knowledge that the process is under way and slowly but surely we'll all(or those who choose to) get our shot in due time gives me hope.

Can you imagine how gloomy 2021 would be if no vaccine had been produced, especially with this horrific second wave?

David Mundy said...

I second your gratitude for all these essential workers, Roger. We can't take quiet courage and dedication for granted.