Authored by Nadia N. Abuelezam, ScD and Sandro Galea
“We normally distance ourselves from disease.
While social and physical distancing may be relatively new phrases, the act of distancing ourselves from those who are sick, ill, or suffering is not new. Often this distance is clinical: We put people who are sick in hospitals or other facilities, keeping illness away from us. We have also improved our ability to prevent and treat disease, therefore providing a clinical buffer. Sometimes this distance is geographical: Disease may be happening in places far from us and among groups we do not belong to. Sometimes this distance is social: We do not think of the people who are sick or suffering as being like us. The sick are often labeled with terms that signify an “other” status.”
Photo by Gustavo Fring by Pexels.
Read the full article on Elemental.