Dear Auntie Mac,
Could you please share this with your audience? Stop shunning people who’ve survived Covid! When I mention I had it months ago, people often back even further away from our masked, six-foot distancing as though I’m still contagious. My offer to cook a meal for someone after surgery was politely refused because I had Covid three months earlier. I offered some books to another neighbor who expressed an interest in reading them and was refused for the same reason. Some people won’t even speak to me! I wasn’t careless – I work in the medical field. I continue to take every precaution AND respond to people with empathy. The two are not mutually exclusive.
Thank You,
Covid-Free

My Dear Neighbor:
Auntie Mac well appreciates your predicament. After having been exposed to the chagas beetle at a birthday party in the rougher quarters of Bora Bora, I found myself shunned at social events all that season, even though the creature in question only made it as far as my sorbet dish. Sadly, this reaction is all too common, and even has a scientific term, which Auntie Mac is certain you will not relish: “parasite avoidance.”  Human evolution has wired us to stigmatize sick people. We saw this at the beginning of (and far too long into) the AIDS crisis. But these are dangerous waters. During the current pandemic, shunning Covid-19 survivors will exacerbate mental health issues. It also will contribute to the spread of the disease, as mildly ill people will be reluctant to admit they are sick. In a time when they need it the most, many survivors of the coronavirus such as yourself are finding that their support system wants nothing to do with them. Having recovered from the illness, you now face a new challenge: stigma from family, friends and co-workers. Even though, as you know, there is no active virus inside you, some will continue to think that you can magically transmit it to them. Interestingly, the most recent CDC evidence suggests that those who have recently recovered from the coronavirus may be among the most immune. To put it bluntly: Someone who is fully recovered from Covid-19 is no longer infectious and should not be treated any differently from his or her peers.

And to those imaginative souls who are leery of trusting information emanating from government agencies, Auntie Mac would like to gently point out that the CDC is not a gleeful cabal of malevolent tricksters bent on neutralizing the entire population of North America, if for no other reason than they value their generous paychecks that allow them to purchase things like trips to Monte Carlo and La Perla lingerie, although not necessarily in that order. But I digress.

Everyone, however, including those who have recovered from the virus, should still take precautions (masks, good hygiene practices, social distancing) and waste no time in getting the vaccine. There is no guarantee that you will not become re-infected, but you are no more apt to transmit the virus to your neighbors than they are to pass it to you. And this foolishness of not touching objects like books that have been touched by someone who currently does not have the virus—honestly. Auntie Mac does not understand this lemming-like penchant on the part of some people to brush aside facts in favor of clutching the most bizarre and far-fetched scenarios to their heaving bosoms.

An important lesson for us all to learn, and learn quickly, is that the social injuries of epidemics – fear, rejection, stigma, loss of sense of belonging – last well beyond physical healing. We all play a vital role in removing stigma during a pandemic. Indeed, one of our best reduction and resilience tools is simple social support. I suggest we all start practicing it at once.
Your Auntie Mac