Almost everyone is a victim of the COVID-19 virus, either indirectly or directly. Combating the factors that facilitated its spread would have made the fight against the novel virus use up fewer resources and affect Americans’ lives to a minimal extent. Unfortunately, the disease has happened in two waves with the highest number of infections recorded on 26 March 2020 (Thunstrom et al. 2). Ignorance, selfishness, and anti-masker theory facilitated the spread of the virus at different stages of the pandemic throughout the world. Ignorance played a pivotal role in the rise of COVID-19 infections in the United States. During the initial stages of the pandemic, Most Americans started calling it the new virus of China.
Constant reference to the disease as the China virus fooled many people in the country (both on social media and others as they carried on with their daily activities) into thinking that they were safe. At first, the Chinese government tried to cover up the disease. Infection cases outside China began rising, and people started referring to the disease as the virus of Chinese. Chinese walking on the street in February last year underwent stigmatization. Other Native Americans made inappropriate jokes about them and people would run away whenever a Chinese coughed within their vicinity. This misconception encouraged recklessness, which exposed several Americans to potentially being infected with the virus.
People accepted these misconceptions even with the knowledge that they were equally as susceptible as people of Chinese descent. They felt a sense of safety when walking in areas that did not have anyone of Chinese descent. Four months after the first case of COVID-19 was reported, people started remarking on the low mortality and infection rate of COVID-19. They believed that the disease had a high prevalence in older people and did not affect the young generation (Thunström et al. 2).
The obliviousness was deep; to others, the virus was receiving unjustified attention from the government. They believed that the disease was no as lethal as the government claimed and the efforts should be channeled to other diseases, which cause a higher mortality rate. Additionally, some claimed that the infection was due to the irradiation from 5G masts and the virus infection was just a cover-up story to divert attention. Another group believed the virus was intentionally made in a laboratory and then released into the population. There were several conspiracy theories, which blinded people to reality. People who lacked insurance covers avoided testing and used willful ignorance to mask the anxiety of diagnosis. Selfish behaviors also facilitated the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Republicans had a 13% less chance of getting tested (Thunstrom 14).
People would sneak into secret parties even after they were highly discouraged by the state. Other self-centered behaviors included people escaping to the countryside and failing to follow the health guidelines. These selfish acts served to satisfy one’s interest without considering the peril accompanying the actions (Thunström et al. 2). The anti-masker theory encouraged some people to shun their masks leaving them exposed. Some used the excuse that masks interfered with their breathing while others perceived them to be ineffective. These anti-masker theories destabilized the government’s prevention efforts. The anti-masker theory, self-centeredness, and unawareness negatively influenced American life by contributing to the emergence of the second wave of infection.
Work Cited
Thunström, Linda, et al. “Testing for COVID-19: Willful Ignorance or Selfless Behavior?” Behavioural Public Policy vol. 5, no. 1, 2020, pp. 1-18.