One of the key things that we are missing in our public health messaging in Ontario re: COVID is that “personal responsibility” is not at all sufficient, especially 6 months in.

We can yell and scream about parties, bars, and nightclubs until we are red in the face. But that will not change people’s behaviour. In fact, we risk reinforcing this behaviour.

Humans are incredibly fallible and short-sighted. Our minds are not built to handle catastrophes like this. It’s a matter of our psychology.

And after nearly 6 months of fighting this pandemic, people are understandably tired and frustrated with the state of things.

Instead of scorning people for wanting normalcy, we must meet people where they are: scared, confused, tired, and frustrated.

That is the kind of vulnerability and empathy that is missing from our response.

I now believe that we have reached a dangerous tipping point in our COVID response that will doom us for the fall without immediate action.

We should have acted swiftly and decisively over the summer to prepare all people to live with COVID for the next few years.

Instead, we have lost precious time and the support of the public. And while our public health authorities and governments will continue to implore us to follow guidelines (which we should), it will certainly not be enough unless these powers ACT.

Just like with climate change, personal responsibility can only get us so far.

To fight a war like this, we need the kind of resources and mobilization that only our federal/provincial governments can provide.

Paid sick days, UBI, food security, housing, among many others—these are the weapons we must fight COVID with.

Telling people to stop partying is not sufficient and misses the point.

tl;dr, unless we are empathetic, vulnerable, and provide people with the tools to live a safe and healthy life, no amount of public health messaging will stop COVID.