Nearly 2 years into COVID-19 pandemic, front-line workers continue to face greater risks

At this point in the pandemic, B.C.-based WestJet flight attendant Crystal Hill says she no longer spends a lot of time worried about getting COVID-19 through her job that requires regular face-to-face interaction with the public

"You go to work and you understand that exposure is very likely," she said. "Or could be very likely.

"But it has been here for two years," said Hill. "At some point it's almost like you have to numb yourself a little bit to it."

Nearly two years into the pandemic, thousands of Canadian front-line workers who are unable to do their job from home continue to put themselves at greater risk of contracting COVID-19. And with the the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, those pressures, for many, have just intensified.

For flight attendants — on top of the fear of contracting COVID-19 from a passenger — there are struggles with federal mask mandates and passenger compliance.

"It's just really been the last, I'd say, month that things have devolved to that feeling of where everyone's exhausted," said Hill, who is also vice president of CUPE 4070, the union that represents WestJet flight attendants.

Toronto-based pharmacist Kyro Maseh, owner of Lawlor Pharmacy, says the stress of his job over the past couple years has him waking up multiple times a night because "there's a million thoughts going through my head."

He has lost weight, as well. Not from dieting, but from skipping lunch. He said he simply doesn't have the time to eat. 

But mostly he said he's "livid" because he doesn't feel the government has recognized that pharmacists are facing the same risks as other front-line healthcare workers.

"We're the ones kind of triaging, recommending, answering questions and obviously filling prescriptions," Maseh said. "So we are the most front-line health-care professional in the Canadian health-care system. And the most accessible by far."

And for those experiencing any kind of COVID-19-related symptoms?  

"The first point of contact that you've had, guess where it was? It was me," he said.

"And I wasn't provided with [personal protective equipment], I wasn't even considered a front-line health-care professional worthy of a vaccine when It was released. So you see the frustration."

Waterloo-based part-time grocer Brent Lambert said he too feels that those providing services in grocery stores day-to-day are somewhat underappreciated compared to health-care workers who get the majority of the compassion.