The sight of a Mater Dei Hospital nurse getting the first COVID-19 vaccine last Sunday injected much hope in the war against the pandemic. But as we slowly equip ourselves for what should hopefully be the final surge in a protracted battle, we feel it is our duty to recall those who have fallen victim in the fight.
Today, Times of Malta is paying tribute to some of the 215 victims of COVID-19. By choosing to publish the pictures of a number of the victims, we are giving a face and a name to the people who were represented as nothing more than statistics.
Many were bunched together as a faceless mass, with underlying conditions. We’ve also sometimes witnessed the ‘generational retribution’ of those who callously perceive the elderly as merely inconsequential beings.
Behind those statistics were mothers, fathers, sisters, grandfathers and friends each with their own history and stories to tell, with memories, relationships and with their own unique contribution to society. Among those victims were doctors, labourers, civil servants and hugely popular figures within their circles.
It is a vivid reminder of the cruelty of a pandemic which has destroyed the lives of so many around the world, especially the elderly.
It is society’s job to not only respect the elderly but to give them as much protection as possible in these difficult days. What will define us as a decent society is the way we succeed in defending the defenceless.
What will define us as a decent society is the way we succeed in defending the defenceless
“There’s the feeling out there among the elderly that people are dying and it’s like nothing happened,” the president of the National Council for the Elderly Anthony Mulè Stagno told Times of Malta last weekend.
Many of the deaths elicited protests from families and friends of the deceased. Some claim it was carelessness by care homes or hospitals that contributed or even led to the loss of their loved ones. Many others spoke of the pain of being forbidden from bidding farewell to the victims in a dignified manner. Never before have so many family and friends been barred from funerals, preventing them from mourning as well as celebrating the life of someone they loved.
It is important for the authorities to make public any investigations into potential shortcomings, especially in care homes
In reality, the reactions came as no surprise. We’re talking about a pandemic which comes every 100 years and for which there was no handbook.
It is natural for many of those grieving to try to find fault in the carers, the doctors, the administrators of homes for the elderly… Some of those accusations may well be justified and it is important for the authorities to make public any investigations into potential shortcomings, especially in care homes.
In reality, the health authorities are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Since February, they have been walking a delicate tightrope, as they try to contain the virus, provide treatment and prepare for an unprecedented roll-out of the vaccine.
As the victims of the dead keep rising in number we cannot fool ourselves into thinking that COVID-19 is exclusively fatal to the elderly.
The youngest victim of COVID-19 in Malta was 46 years old, others in their 50s also succumbed to the virus. And this is a stark reminder of a pandemic which could come back to haunt us in other guises in the coming months.
This is why we can ill afford to let our guard down, even as the process to inoculate the public has started.