“My father was a man who would be a great leader,” said Sujata Day, whose father, Vinay, died of the virus on March 28 in Montreal. Her father is mentioned as an inspiring figure and a devoted supporter of the community. Vinay Dey worked hard on the pandemic to encourage vaccination in the Calgary South Asian community. He also had a long career at CP Rail, had roles in numerous community organizations and was deeply concerned about anti-racism efforts. “My father was a person who just wanted to serve people, he wanted to see good things for people,” he said. She said her father became infected in Alberta shortly before traveling to Montreal to help prepare for her wedding, but tested positive and was soon admitted to hospital for treatment for the virus and a minor infection. “In the end, it was like, everything just failed and it was very difficult to watch,” he said. He was 81 years old.
REPORT ON THE DEATHS OF ALBERTA by COVID
The virus continues to cost the lives of many Alberts, even as the county moves to Stage 3 of the pandemic recovery plan, removing all public health measures. In the last week of March 2022, 21 deaths were reported. Weekly totals rose steadily to 70 in the first week of May and remained above 40 until June. There have been 24 deaths in the last weekly totals by the Alberta government. “We are seeing more deaths than we would in a normal year of flu and yet there is a sense that we need to move on and that the pandemic is over,” said Dr Stephanie Smith, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Alberta. With the wide coverage of vaccines, as the majority of adults in Alberta have received at least two vaccines, data from Alberta Health show that the vast majority of those who died from the virus were vaccinated, boosted, over 60, and also died of complex immune conditions. “Even if they have had four doses of the vaccine, they just do not respond as well. And it’s really tragic because there is less use of these tools to protect them,” Smith said. In terms of public health response, Smith said the pandemic of exhaustion has led to a collective “acceptance that we will accept a higher mortality rate than any of us would have imagined.”
IT DOES NOT END FOR EVERYONE
The Dey family says they do not want to forget their father or his state of health. “People have the illusion that everything is over and they go out and do things, but it is not over for everyone right?” said Sujata Day, A total of 4,591 Alberts have died from COVID-19.
