Mom of immunocompromised boy worries lifting restrictions leaves behind most vulnerable

April Parent and her son have spent the last two years living in quarantine. But as word spread Wednesday of plans for all public health restrictions in Nova Scotia to end in less than a month, Parent wasn't feeling much relief.

"There's a huge unease for me," the Yarmouth County, N.S., woman said in an interview Thursday.

Parent's 10-year-old son, Lucas, has common variable immunodeficiency, or CVID. The disorder leaves him without the ability to naturally build an immune system. He also has a B-cell deficiency, which makes it difficult to retain the lasting benefits most people get from vaccines.

"It puts him at a very high risk of any infection becoming life threatening," said Parent.

The two of them have spent the last two years focused on avoiding COVID-19 to protect Lucas. He's done his schooling from home, which hasn't been easy because he also has autism and a learning disability. They've avoided almost all contact with friends and family, except when groceries are dropped off at the house.

"Nobody is even getting within 12 feet of me," said Parent.

"We're double masked. My daughter stays on the other end of my deck and drops off the groceries and then I go back inside."

And yet even with these efforts, at the end of last month Parent and her son both got COVID-19.

It was a difficult two weeks for her and he's still recovering, she said.

When Lucas became eligible to be vaccinated they delayed it, hoping the Omicron wave would pass before having a health-care worker come to their home. They're now waiting the recommended two months before booking his shot.

'I have a lot of concern'

While she doesn't know how the disease got into her house, Parent said when she considers how careful they were it doesn't give her much confidence as public protections are about to be removed.

She's also mindful of the fact vaccination rates are low for the 5-11 age group in Nova Scotia and the overall rate for the area she lives in is among the lowest in the province.

"I have a lot of concern around how do I send him to school safely when there's no restrictions, no masking, no way to prevent him or protect him from catching COVID again," said Parent.

Education Minister Becky Druhan told reporters Thursday the removal of restrictions, including the mask mandate, comes at the advice of Public Health officials.

Druhan said masks have benefits, but also come with costs because people aren't able to see each other's faces and that can affect socialization.

"There are significant developmental implications for being able to see someone's face, to be able to see how words are formed when someone speaks, to be able to learn to read expressions and emotions," she said following a cabinet meeting.

Premier Tim Houston said on Wednesday he understands that for some people the expected removal of all restrictions on March 21 will cause concerns. He and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang said the change does not prevent people from continuing to use masks, limiting their group of contacts or taking other protective steps.

"You should see this as a return to normalcy," Houston said during Wednesday's COVID-19 briefing.

Feeling 'thrown to the wolves'

Parent wants a return to normalcy, too, but she feels like the government is moving too fast, too soon without giving enough consideration to people with vulnerable health conditions who need more protection.

"It's as if this population is just going to be thrown to the wolves and if you get it and you're good, you're good," she said.

"And if you get it and you're not, well, we're sorry for your loss and we're sorry for you becoming a number within the province and within the country and within the world."

Parent said she would have preferred to see a slower plan, one that kept masks and gathering limits longer, at least until later in spring when flu and cold season is over and the situation is safer for the people most at risk.

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