Venezuelan actor Edgar Ramirez is one of the most successful Latino artists in Hollywood right now. Ramirez, who has been nominated for the Emmy and Golden Globe, is known for roles in TV series and films such as Joy, Hands of Stone, Yes Day, The Girl on the Train, The Undoing, and The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.
Recently, the actor has faced tough personal challenges related to Covid. His grandmother died from complications associated with the virus a few weeks ago, his uncle was hospitalized for a month and is barely stable, “and, I’m only hoping for a miracle to save my aunt Lucy’s life”.
Ramirez decided to use his social media community to provide updates on Covid and encourage people to “follow science and truthful information”. To do so, he spoke with Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The virus is the common enemy
Dr. Fauci mentioned that Covid has to be taken very seriously; because of its ability to spread, it is the worst virus the population has experienced in the last 100 years. He was concerned about the politicization of the vaccine and the disease, and emphasized that it is necessary to understand that “we have a common enemy, and that enemy is the virus”.
For this doctor, another important factor is to help countries that do not have access to vaccines, since Covid is a global problem and therefore requires a global response in order for everyone to be safe. On this in particular, Edgar Ramirez emphasized how in some places, such as his home country, it is difficult to access the vaccine and this leaves a large part of the population unprotected.
“My aunt Nidia spent a couple of days in the hospital because of Covid, but she is fine now”. What is the difference with the rest of his family? She was vaccinated. “Neither my grandmother, my aunt Lucy, nor my uncle Guillermo had access to vaccines. In the small Venezuelan town where they live, there are not enough vaccines. This is a reality for millions of people around the world”.
Safety in public spaces
One of the major concerns in the community involves the use of the mask. Dr Fauci clarified that it is safe to go without a face mask in closed spaces with vaccinated friends and family members, saying “there is a miniscule risk”. But in public spaces, when the vaccination status of the people around you is not known, the risk increases, and for that reason, he recommends wearing a mask when outdoors.
On the other hand, they talked about the safety of opening schools at this time with the Delta variant spreading. Fauci mentioned that children are probably more at risk of getting sick with the Delta variant than with the original variant, however, almost two years since the pandemic started, there is also concern about people’s mental health. For children, the months of confinement have been especially challenging.
Dr. Fauci argued that children can be kept protected in appropriate environments through vaccinated teachers and caregivers. In addition, it is important for everyone to wear a mask and comply with other safety measures because of the high degree of virus transmission.
New observations
Some people do not know what to believe due to the spread of fake news all over the Internet. One of the doubts that Dr. Fauci clarified is the veracity of long-term Covid. He said it is not hypothetical, it is real.
Long Covid occurs after virologic recovery, where it has been observed that a percentage of the population may be left with symptoms, some of them disabling. The most common are fatigue, temperature dysregulation, tachycardia, sleep disturbances and concentration problems. It is impossible to know who will have these symptoms in the long term, but patients have been observed to be ill for weeks and even months.
Another question many people have is whether a booster of the vaccine will be needed in the future, Dr. Fauci clarified that it is very likely that an additional dose will soon be officially indicated to achieve greater durability of immunity. He said they are working on studies to be clear about when a critical decrease in response levels may occur.
Reactions to the video
The video posted on Instagram garnered both positive and negative responses. Some users appreciated the additional information provided by Edgar Ramirez and Dr. Fauci, while others criticized the pro-vaccine stance.
Some comments even became rude and insensitive, criticizing the actor for supposedly not doing anything for his relatives. According to them, he should have taken them out of the country (Venezuelans need visas for many countries) or buy the vaccines for them on the black market (a way that has been used in Venezuela to get the vaccine, but that does not guarantee the quality and authenticity of the product).
A year ago, many people were talking about the positive change that the pandemic was generating in all of humanity, such as generosity and kindness. But it seems that the chaos has not led to a big improvement. Lack of empathy is gaining ground, while Covid keeps knocking on the door of different families at the least expected time. This coronavirus doesn’t wait for vaccines and is not daunted by anything.
Image credit: Gage Skidmore
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