Ontario Votes 2022: With COVID protections lifted, vulnerable residents feel ‘like our lives don't matter’

Tara Schrama was walking out of an elevator in a public building when a maskless stranger coughed in her personal space and laughed about it.

What was visible to them was a 36-year-old wearing a mask long after Ontario dropped its mandate. What they couldn't see was that the west Hamilton woman has a rare chronic disease requiring medication that suppresses her immune system, making her vulnerable to COVID.

In fact, on that day roughly two weeks ago, she had just recovered from a terrifying bout with Omicron.

I don't believe we're all in this together," said Schrama. When mask mandates came, some people got really angry. When things were closing to protect people, people were getting angry about that."

The dropping of nearly all public health measures in March while COVID transmission was still elevated sent a clear message, said Schrama.

They don't care about us," she said through tears. For those of us who are more susceptible, it just feels like our lives don't matter ... It made me so angry when people were saying, My right to live the way I want to.' What about my right to live?"

Schrama isn't alone in feeling left behind as Ontarians learn to live with the virus. Dr. Catherine Clase is a nephrologist at St. Joseph's Healthcare who cares for dialysis patients, people with kidney diseases and transplant recipients. People who are also struggling at this point in the pandemic.

I think that they're having to make a choice between participating in society and being safe and I really think that's unfair," said Clase. I don't think people should have to choose between getting an education and staying safe or keeping their jobs and staying safe and that's the position that patients are in ... They don't feel safe out there."

Their fears are not unfounded as Clase has seen firsthand the danger COVID poses to her patients, who don't get the same protection from the vaccine because their immune systems are suppressed.

Even people who've been very cautious in this latest wave, we have seen them getting COVID because the community prevalence has been so high," said Clase. It's really frightening for them ... We have seen people who are immunosuppressed who have done everything right - they've had all their vaccines and had treatment when they've been infected - who have got progressively sick and died."

What has troubled Clase is the ableism she has witnessed during the pandemic.

The idea that if people have pre-existing conditions, that somehow discounts their death in some way," she said. Every life is valuable ... Each one of these deaths is a tragedy."

She has seen the same attitudes directed toward seniors who account for the vast majority of COVID deaths.

Many people in their 80s will be living with chronic health conditions, but they may be living well with them," she said. I do feel that we've decided not to be cautious. For people who are younger and people who are well, then that means that they have the ability to feel like life is more normal ... But the price is not paid by those people, the price is paid by people who have co-morbidities and people who are older."

Those feeling undervalued are not a small minority. It's estimated 37 per cent of Canadian adults have at least one underlying health condition and the number goes up with age.

These are people who are living very fulfilling lives, full of happiness and joy," said Dr. Amit Arya, assistant clinical professor in the department of family medicine at McMaster University. They deserve equal right to protection."

Far too often, he's seen how even a mild run in with COVID can cause suffering for those most vulnerable.

We know that there's a greater risk of worsening mobility and physical function in older adults when they experience mild or moderate COVID even if they're not hospitalized," he said. They technically survive the COVID-19 but their body was left in such a weakened state that ... COVID-19 reduced their life expectancy and definitely had a major impact on their quality of life. So we need to use all the tools that we have available to keep society safe for as many people as we can."

Both Arya and Clase say it wouldn't take much to better protect those most at risk.

I favour a return to mask mandates ... because we know that the best protection that we get with masks is when everybody wears masks," said Clase. We can actually have more freedom if we do certain things on a societal level. When we frame public health choices as individual choices, we miss the opportunity to care for each other and we also miss the leverage that that collective action gives us."

Arya would also bring back vaccine passports, improve ventilation and provide better education about the virus.

We've been told by our governments and public health authorities that we're supposed to do our own risk assessment," said Arya. But we have not been provided accurate information about how to do that risk assessment."

He said increasingly the approach to the pandemic is backwards, focused on those least at risk instead of the most vulnerable.

We need to centre our policies around the voices of older adults," he said. Too often we hear about policies being centred around what's best for young and healthy people."

Schrama believes voices like hers have been muted throughout the pandemic.

We feel left out, ignored and not cared for," she said. We also feel very isolated."

Even before the pandemic Schrama had to be cautious. She got an auto-immune disease from her work as a geologist breathing in silica dust in an iron ore mine. Her symptoms started in 2015 and she was diagnosed in 2017 with Scleroderma, a connective tissue disease that involves the hardening and tightening of the skin and can cause issues in blood vessels, internal organs and the digestive tract. The treatment includes immunosuppressants.

It causes me to be much more susceptible to illnesses like the cold and the flu," said Schrama. For a regular person to have a cold, they can get over it. For me, it takes much longer or it might turn into something more serious."

If a cold can be a blow, Schrama worried COVID would be a death sentence.

Our bodies are weak enough as it is," she said. To fight COVID 19, our bodies may not be up to it."

Schrama was afraid to leave her home, having friends and family deliver necessities.

I became absolutely terrified," she said. I ended up not leaving my place for about four months. I was lonely."

COVID is such a danger to Schrama that she got immunized despite having to be monitored by the allergy clinic at St. Joseph's in case of a reaction.

I began to feel a bit safer going out with having the vaccines, masks and even the capacity limits in places," she said. I would go out and do what I needed to do, grocery shopping, running errands, going for (medical) tests."

She even tried going to a restaurant last summer but found the experience too nerve-racking.

Just taking that mask off, to me, I find the mask to be the comfort blanket," she said.

But all of her newfound freedom disappeared when vaccine passports dropped March 1 in Ontario and mask mandates ended March 21. Schrama's life is now similar to the beginning of the pandemic - going out only when necessary about once or twice a week for an hour or two.

It causes a lot of stress and anxiety and I get frightened doing it because I really don't trust those around me," she said. Some are courteous and are taking it seriously and then you've got those who aren't and find it to be a joke. They don't respect you or respect your space."

Despite living in near isolation, the virus still found Schrama just over a month after mask requirements ended. She described COVID symptoms coming on with a vengeance."

I had a high fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite," she said. I had something that felt like it was stuck at the back of my throat and a tickle that caused me to constantly cough. Runny nose. I had chills to sweats to back to chills. I was extremely fatigued. I wanted to sleep all the time. It wasn't nice."

Luckily, Schrama was able to immediately get antiviral treatment that worked to keep her out of hospital. But she worries about getting infected again with so few measures in place to protect the vulnerable.

I have a right to live," she says. My life means just as much as your freedom does."

Joanna Frketich is a health reporter at The Spectator. jfrketich@thespec.com