Violet Affleck recently addressed the United Nations, expressing her concerns about the safety of children in America due to what she perceives as a lack of transparency regarding the dangers of long COVID.
Violet, the 19-year-old daughter of actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, has been an outspoken advocate about the issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, she spoke to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, emphasizing the need to oppose bans on face masks.
On September 23, Violet took her advocacy a step further, accusing adults of prematurely attempting to return to normalcy despite the ongoing threat of infectious diseases.
“We are told by leaders across the board that we are the future,” Violet began in her speech. “But when it comes to the ongoing pandemic, our present is being stolen right in front of our eyes.”
Violet, who is currently studying at Yale University, criticized the older generation for what she describes as the ‘persistent push to return to normalcy,’ while ignoring the risks associated with airborne transmission and long COVID.
In her address, Violet stated, “Young people lacked both real choice in the matter and information about what was being chosen for us.” She then delved into the specifics of COVID-19 and its virus.
“Here’s what we know about SARS CoV2. It is airborne, floating and lingering in the air, one infection can result in disabling damage to almost every cell in the body from the brain and heart to the nerves and blood vessels. Every subsequent infection increases the risk of long movement and places people who already have it in greater danger. As Dr. Akiko Iwasaki says, at this point, the whole population is the control group, and after only five years, long COVID has surpassed asthma as the most common chronic illness in children in five years and under.”
During her passionate speech, she also expressed her fears about potential COVID-19 outbreaks in schools and shared her concern that children may never experience a life free from chronic pain and fatigue.
“I am furious on their behalf,” she stated. “It is a neglect of the highest order to look children in the eyes and say, ‘We knew how to protect you and we didn’t do it. We have access to a technology to prevent airborne disease, something that millions of our ancestors and millions of people around the world today would kill for, and we refuse to use it. And I shudder to think of where we will be in another five years of unmitigated infection and reinfection.”
The implications of her words serve as a stark reminder that the pandemic’s impact is far from over.