Covid19 is NOT over. I know you know that, but also might have recovered yourselves in a way that lets you forget the suffering of many others. Regardless, I am horrified that our collective path is to simply walk away from the negative consequences the pandemic continues to bring to our communities. More than any other policy, we need Paid Family and Medical Leave in the United States to address the deep inequities families face when Covid hits our households. Almost no one in Maine can afford to practice the suggested isolation policies. What are we doing when we ask people to continue to work while ill, with a virus known to do more damage to our bodies if we fail to get enough rest? What are we doing when we ask people to work while contagious with a virus known to be very dangerous to older and more vulnerable people? How can support for Paid Family and Medical Leave be so controversial at a time when public health advice is to stay out of school and work for 5-10 days at a time? The presumption of an unpaid caregiver is extremely old. I also am horrified and frustrated that Congress will not pass more funding for Covid19 research and mitigation efforts. Today’s NYT includes a story about possible nasal vaccines that could stop the spread of transmission — why wouldn’t’ the USA fund this research and future distribution? To consider mitigation too expensive is to say our bodies, the bodies of our elders and our children are all disposable. Please reconsider and work toward funding this crisis appropriately. Finally, families need more access to rapid tests and testing more generally. Again, this should not be something that wealthier people get to use and lower income families must do without. Rapid Antigen Tests are not luxury items, they are tools for navigating an ever-changing virus. I am disheartened that so many deaths and so much illness is overlooked by our Government. Please reconsider the partisan take on Covid19 and work together to support families that are struggling so much.
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