Juxtaposition can be a fascinating thing.
There were two stories, one above the other, on the National Post website Friday: one, that a third and fourth presumptive case of the coronavirus had been reported in North Vancouver. (It was one of 11 coronavirus stories on that single webpage Friday, a sign of how people are treating the idea of a new, sometimes-deadly virus that currently has no vaccine.)
Meanwhile, a little lost on the same page was a story from Edmonton about a different, much more familiar disease: measles.
Alberta Health Services is tracking the case of the highly infectious disease, step by step, through St. Albert and Edmonton, right down to an hour-by-hour checklist detailing where people who are immune-system compromised, uninoculated, or under the age of one might have been exposed to the disease.
I’m going to include the whole list of places the infected person travelled, to show how seriously medical staff are taking possible exposure to the virulent illness, which can stay active and communicable for hours after the infected person leaves a room.
Jan. 31
Real Canadian Superstore
101 St Albert Trail, St. Albert
Time Period: 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Chapters
445 St. Albert Trail, St. Albert
Time Period: 3:15 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Feb. 2
Italian Bakery’s Mercato
120 Bellerose Drive, St. Albert
Time Period: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Feb. 3
University of Alberta Hospital, main floor and Stollery Children’s Hospital, emergency department
8440 112 St. N.W., Edmonton
Time Period: 5:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
At the following locations in the hospital:
• Gift shop
• Information desk and the immediate surrounding area
• Main cafeteria
• North elevators across from the information desk and entire area surrounding the elevators including the public washrooms
• East hospital entrance, 112 street and foyer area including the escalators
• Main hallway from the 112 street entrance through to the Stollery and Adult emergency rooms.
• Main floor area around the McMullen Gallery.
Chilling stuff, hey? And all so pedestrian: a trip to the grocery store, the bookstore, a stop to buy bread. The next day, a hospital visit…
More chilling is this: measles would be close to eradicated if people did something as simple as get a measles shot. Those who refuse, or refuse to have their children inoculated, not only risk their own health, but the health of others.
Meanwhile, on the coronavirus front, there are people out there right now talking about closing borders and other extreme precautions to prevent exposure to the expanding illness.
On Friday, the death toll stood at 638 in China, with 31,532 confirmed cases, 3,859 of them severe. The death rate from the virus is around 2.1 per cent, though that number fluctuates. Certainly, it’s a serious outbreak well worth worldwide attention.
But think about this. The U.S. Center for Disease Control says that between 2000 and 2017, measles vaccinations prevented 21.1 million deaths worldwide. The death rate, outside of areas with access to advanced health care, is much higher than 2.1 per cent, and something like 20 per cent of those who get infected have some sort of complications from the virus.
Oh, and, by early December, 1,800 Americans had died of the flu this flu season. Just like there’s a measles shot, there’s a flu shot.
Maybe it’s a general fear of the unknown.
Or maybe familiarity breeds contempt.
I’m not saying that the coronavirus doesn’t deserve the attention. Not at all.
But I can’t help but think that, when there finally is a coronavirus inoculation, there will be plenty of people who will refuse to get that shot, too.
Russell Wangersky’s column appears in SaltWire newspapers and websites across Atlantic Canada. He can be reached at [email protected] — Twitter: @wangersky.