Faces of the Fight: Dr. Jasmine Hasselback
As a Medical Health Officer (MHO), I am a doctor who keeps people from getting sick, whenever possible. That’s where my role is different from other physicians who normally deal with people once they’re sick; I feel privileged to focus on preventing illness.
Even with my specialized training in outbreaks and controlling communicable diseases, nothing could have prepared me for all that I have faced since December 2019. Finding the right balance personally and professionally in a world where sands were always shifting and curveballs were always flying at me from all directions felt impossible at times. During all this, like so many, I experienced the loss of those I loved but found it hard to find the time and space to grieve. I watched families and friends face what seemed like impossible challenges themselves, and I could not be there how I would have liked. I also saw so many examples of how, if all of us strive to be a good person each and every day, the impossible becomes possible.
Part of what we’re trained to do as MHOs is to be prepared for a pandemic. We’re generally quiet in the background and then when a problem like this shows up, we pop up out of seemingly nowhere and get pulled right in. Some of the things we look at are: how do we identify a pandemic, how do we stop or slow the spread, and how do we get people immunized as quickly as possible to keep them as well as we can? That’s what we expect from our roles – we’re always ready to be there when we need to be, and we go where we’re needed.
As we reopen in Saskatchewan, I am watching closely. We know we need at least 85 per cent of people fully immunized for herd immunity against the variants of concern that we know about. And we’re not there yet.
Population-level interventions, like the restrictions we had in place until recently, do work. We saw that through the pandemic – they did slow transmission when they were put in place. They’re also asking a lot of people. I am glad to see that people are getting their opportunities back and that they can live life to the fullest. But when we still have a significant way to go to get that second dose coverage in all areas of the province, it means there is potential for risk.
There is nothing that an MHO wants more than to never have to put limits on anyone. We hate it! We are very aware of how much it takes away from people and how painful it is for anyone who has to undergo isolation, or not hold their loved ones – but with COVID-19 we were facing the impossible – without these interventions too much harm would happen and too many people would suffer. I will be very happy if we do not see an increase in COVID-19 illness as we open up again. But I am certainly going into this prepared for the possibility of a complicated summer.
The thing you can do as an individual is make sure you are fully vaccinated, and that everyone around you is, too. Help the people in your lives make their immunization plans. Respect the rules that are in place in health facilities, because the risks in those spaces are greater. Respect the rules that are in place in businesses, because they can choose how to operate for the safety of their staff. Be kind to others as we continue to navigate this path together, and come to a safer place where I, and my fellow MHOs, are in a better position to keep the well people well.