Vaccine passports: some people already have to explain their medical history in public
Much is being said in the media at the moment about vaccine passports. A few months ago the Prime Minister indicated he was against the idea that anyone in Britain should ever have to explain their medical history to go to the shops, or the pub; apparently, that is not the sort of thing 'we' do.
I've got news for him. It is the sort of thing some of us have to do already, and it's thanks to the divisive scaremongering for which his government is responsible.
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Viv has an acoustic neuroma. It's a kind of tumour in her skull base, and it causes her all sorts of problems. I won't list them all, but there are two that are relevant to the current Covid rules for going into public places.
- The tumour has caused severe damage to her right acoustic nerve. That's the one that connects her ear to her brain. This damage is such that she has no hearing at all in her right ear, and her brain compensates the lack of signal with loud squealing tinnitus, which makes it difficult for her to hear high frequency sounds (like consonants) with her left ear. She cannot hear people speaking when they are wearing a face mask; as a consequence I will go out with her and will not wear a mask (as is permitted in the regulations).
- The tumour has also damaged her 7th cranial nerve on the right side, causing her a palsy, that is, an inability to move much of the right hand side of her face. A consequence of this is that her speech is often unclear; if she wears a mask she cannot make herself understood at all; because I - and possibly others - need to understand her, she does not wear a mask.
Some might argue that I should shop alone, in line with recommendations. This, however, also causes us problems should Viv need to contact me when I'm out: she struggles with a phone (imagine what it's like trying to understand someone on a phone when you have a 95 decibel scream in your right ear), other issues make texting and suchlike difficult. We - and our many medical and legal advisors - believe she is safest with someone.
Yesterday we went to Wilko, one of my favourite stores. We were wandering between the garden and kitchen departments when we were approached by a forty-ish, masked lady (seemingly a customer, not a member of staff) who asked, quite loudly, in schoolmistressy tones, 'Don't either of you two have to wear a mask?'.
Viv couldn't understand her and looked at me. I lifted my lanyard and badge, pointing to the bit that says 'I have a disability and am exempt from wearing a face covering'.
The lady looked at us, huffed, and marched off. Viv said it made her feel like she did when called out at school for a uniform breach.
When we got to the till, I explained to the assistant what had happened, in quite a loud voice just in case any of the other shoppers nearby had also taken exception to our bare-faced appearance. I briefly summarised Viv's relevant medical issues to avoid any confusion. The assistant couldn't have been more sympathetic and assured us that we were always welcome to shop there.
But, after that experience, I can see why some disabled people might prefer to stay at home, or avoid public places, in the current climate.
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On the way home Viv was upset (and, indeed, continued to be for the rest of the day).
I wondered what I could do. I thought I could create some cards, business-card size, saying something like:
Thank you for your understanding.
Vivienne has an acoustic neuroma which has severed her right acoustic and 7th cranial nerves. As a consequence she has very poor hearing and unclear speech.
She, and her companion, do not wear face coverings because, if they did, she would be unable to communicate.
This is in accordance with UK Government coronavirus guidance.
Thank you.
I thought I might hand out these cards to people who appeared to be nervous of our appearance, before they either said something unpleasant to us, or, perhaps, before they went off and told all their friends about the awful couple they had seen not wearing masks.
However, it's not us that are doing things wrong. Why should we have to shell out for a load of cards, just to explain ourselves? Why should we have to tell strangers about our medical conditions?
Why did the politicians allow this situation to evolve?
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Viv and I were just listening to 3CR, our BBC local radio station, who were having a phone in on the 'ending of lockdown'. One lady, I believe in her seventies, was on air, talking about people 'breaking the rules' and how awful it was, and how infections might increase as a result. She had visited an aquatic centre recently and been shocked by one lady there not wearing a mask. 'She wasn't wearing any id to explain why she wasn't wearing a mask', the lady reported to listeners. She did not speak to the non-mask wearer, but gave the impression to listeners that she felt entitled to an explanation as to why this other customer was entitled to go out, in public, not wearing a mask.
Government regulations (gov.uk, here) are quite clear that there are exemptions, and that, while the likes of Viv and me who are exempt feel more comfortable wearing exemption cards, they are not compulsory.
The radio announcer could have made that point, and could have explained the gov.uk rules, but didn't. He could have explained that the non-mask wearing lady was probably disabled, and that not all disabilities are visible. He didn't.
It seems that it's becoming quite acceptable to pick on the disabled.
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The current coronamania is often compared to the Spanish Inquisition. I don't think that's a very good comparison. What is a good comparison is disability, for, in my Pythonesque comparison, no-one expects to become disabled.
I say become disabled deliberately. Most people with a disability did not have it from birth, it arose later in their life.
This issue of how the disabled are treated is going to affect many more people than just those who are disabled now.
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Many MPs are against vaccine passports. That's good, but they have surely missed the boat, the government will introduce them anyway. As I've noted, busybodies already feel entitled to ask questions about and comment on people's - especially disabled people's - medical history in shops, pubs, the street, or wherever they like.
How will you enjoy that?
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MPs should be doing more to stop the humiliation of disabled people in public places, and the media could be doing more to correct misunderstandings among the population at large, for it is not acceptable for a vulnerable minority to be picked on and seemingly blamed for future coronavirus outbreaks.
Meanwhile, since it seems likely that masks will be with us for some time, I'll design the cards that I'll hand out to those seemingly alarmed by Viv's and my bare faces. There's one more thing I am going to do, or rather not do.
I shall never, ever, in my entire life, place my cross on a ballot paper for anyone that represents the Conservative Party.
Public humiliation comes at a price, I'm afraid.
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