Immunocompromised is a body situation when the immune defenses go extremely low due to malnutrition or suppression from a particular virus. This makes the body not produce enough antibodies to fight illnesses and toxic environmental conditions. Ed Yong’s article, ‘The Millions of People Stuck in Pandemic Limbo,’ on the theatlantic.com website, directs his argument on the exposure of immunocompromised people, specifically from the United States of America, majorly impacted by the Covid-19 virus. The pandemic article points out the challenges that a portion of the population has faced, how Covid-19 has changed the old standard way of life, adapted to the virus, and the fears they now face concerning the future. Ed Yong elaborates how it has been difficult for this group of people to return to their usual way of life because of the challenges they now face post the pandemic error. From the article, at least 7 million people in America are immunocompromised. Their environmental needs are not regarded as far as the development of social management guidelines for the pandemic. The article further shows evidence that the immunocompromised people do not fully perform their tasks like others who view the situation as interference and are less concerned about those affected by the way things are. There is a high demand for a society with individuals who are kind to one another and care about people who are less healthy and demand exceptional care and a safe environment.
Ed Yong documented the article with an impersonal tone as it does not emphasize more on the main subject more. Still, the main ideas leveled on the effect of the Covid pandemic on the general population and how the immunocompromised ones have been affected. The facts have been presented by using real examples and statistical analysis, thus leaving the reader of the article to make a personal judgment on the information. Ed Yong uses the ethos, logos, and pathos form to illustrate the conditional paths that immunocompromised have had to trade on in these challenging days.
Ethos, which refers to the ethical characters defining a specific group, is utilized by the author to develop a familiar relationship on the subject and make the article’s readers comfortable with the information at hand. Yong gives real examples and analyses statistical information about the Covid 19 data making his ideas more credible and authentic. The way Ed Yong analyses the situation proves that he has expertise in the medical field and knows how different people react to illnesses. The author explains the facts like someone who has experience and interest in this field, making one accept the information in the article. There are elements of trust in the document through the credibility of the sources he used, the language used accordingly, and satiety gained through the information provided. The ideas presented go hand in hand with the topic, the personal and general examples carefully given, and the correct grammatical approach usage of the language further proves that the information is from a professional.
Logos refers to a rhetorical approach to reasoning where a writer uses a logical sense to bring out meaning. The kind of reasoning and ideology approach used by Ed Yong is logical in how he employs real-life examples and statistical evidence based on the complex adaptation of the immunocompromised during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, he clearly outlines how the general public has meanly reacted towards the affected people and how nobody has given any significant concern about taking care of them. He neatly arranges the ideas in the document, and every example used is based on the concept exemplified. The language deployed is satisfying; the choice of words aligns with the subject of study, ‘pandemic limbo.’ Pandemic limbo means a state of being forgotten, and the use of the phrase in the article openly brings home the subject matter of the information. A better example is the woman Julia Irzyk who has lived for three decades with lupus symptoms, has rheumatoid arthritis, and has heart conditions. The lady has been precautionary throughout her life, and Covid 19 appears to make the situation even worse as she does not just risk getting it. Still, her immune system is not compatible with the vaccines provided. This turns the situation from bad to worse, gives her a ten percent chance of death, and a significant portion of the population lies in the same bed with Julia. This is just one of the examples used by Yong to explain the situation of people stuck in limbo and how the virus has changed their lives.
Pathos refers to creating a sympathetic situation using the information at hand. The writer uses pathos by catching the reader’s emotions through illustrating how immunosuppressed people suffer. The use of examples and personal situations triggers the human side of the reader to feel how other people have been affected by this pandemic, sympathy made in return. Take the example of Emily Landon, an infectious diseases doctor. Sometime later, after preparing her institution for the virus’s arrival, she is caught up in the fight for her own life. She is diagnosed with rheumatoid disease, and her immune system is weakened due to frequent taking of drugs and thus risks exposure to pathogens. The fact that the woman reaches a point of almost writing her own will brings to her the fact that she could die, invoking interest and sympathy from the reader. Ed Yong also reveals that these people do not have friends, and their relatives mostly perceive them as a burden. Statements like, “Imagine walking around and being in society and thinking, if you give me COVID, I might have a 10 percent risk of dying,” or “Could I define my risk of death if I got COVID? No, I really can’t. And that’s a hard thing to make peace with.” Spark emotional feelings and make the reader understand the information from a personal perspective.
In conclusion, flowery language presents an article designed with ethos, logos, and pathos with an even distribution of ideas and facts. This creates a full article with a logical presentation of the information, which is convincing, an ethical perspective that involves the reader’s credibility, and an emotional view that yields the human side of the targeted audience. Uniting these three elements creates a finished article that presents the reader with a complete ideology on the subject matter. This helps the reader fully understand how the immunocompromised are suffering in the current society and how it may take them a while to get out of the pandemic limbo.
Works Cited
Yong, Ed, “The Millions of People Stuck in Pandemic Limbo”, February
16TH , 202, https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/02/covid-pandemic- immunocompromised-risk-vaccines/622094/, Date Accessed March 18th, 2022.
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