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2021-04-13
With vaccines already approved for ages of 16, still clinical trials need to be completed for children younger than 16. There is more thought put into children's vaccine as their body does not react to things the same way that grown adults do. By the looks of statistics, it can be said that the vaccines will be available for children before the start of the 2021 - 2022 school year. This means children will be able to get the vacancies and start living more socially involved lives as it is important for them during these stages of development. Though the vaccine will not be required, it is suggested and each state will make its own laws on what type of rules they want to set. On the bright sight, the vaccine is the best hope to end the pandemic and allow children to start enjoying their lives like before again, it will help cut down children's obesity rates and boost mental health.
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2021-04-13
This article speaks about the clinical trials that have begun in Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in hopes of getting a vaccine out for children as young as five years old. At the moment about 3,000 children have been on a waitlist to be involved in the trial. There are sites at which people are working to get dosage limits right for children ranging from 2-4 aswell. Many responses were collected by children on how they felt about being a part of the trial. Lila, a third-grader who is 8, was asked what was the best thing about participating in the vaccine trial, she replied, "knowing I might be able to not wear my mask anymore and knowing that the coronavirus vaccine is coming out." The effects the pandemic has on the children are visible as their hopes are to help the pandemic stop so that things go back to normal for them.
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2021
Stefano Bloch is an Assistant Professor in the School of Geography, Development & Environment at the University of Arizona, Tucson.
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2021-02-21
Never thought I’d live through a quasi twilight experience in my life time.
From being totally free to roam around to try my hand at different social, educational, and faith filled interactions to staying home, sheltering, social distancing, sanitizing, and using technology for daily living within one year was a marathon of changes.
I’ve lived an exciting and challenging 75 years. There have been many twists and turns in my life which is what makes me think is the reason for my young can do spirit. The Covid 19 experience is yet another one of those twists that I never imagined. In a matter of weeks our country was practically shut down. The challenge of not being sure who to believe regarding the pandemic was disconcerting. I had just lost my husband and went from living in a beautiful neighborhood, El Dorado Hills, with lots of friends and a wonderful husband at my side who could always help me keep things in perspective. I sold my house and went to live with my daughter in Sacramento. My daughter, Monica, was so generous and tried to make me feel at home and never complained about my “intrusion”. Then when things were getting a tiny bit better for me, Covid rears its ugly head.
The news media reported how the Covid pandemic started. But wait, then the news reported the way it started was not the way it was reported. No one knew the best way to protect anyone. It was new and devastating. People were getting the virus from mild to severe symptoms. Many people were in need of respirators and many died regardless. Conspiracy theories were popping up. With all of this confusion people were getting more and more angry. Watching, hearing, or reading about the events around our country were discouraging. Protests and riots were happening. My immediate neighborhood was never in danger of rioters but the down town area in Sacramento was affected. Were we ever going to heal as a nation? Would we be able to trust again?
What could I do about anything? I kept my eyes and ears open to whatever I could do to improve our situation. I could no longer visit the elderly in the rest homes by bringing them spiritual comfort and friendship. The rest homes were one of the first hardest hit with Covid. I used to take Holy Communion once a week and would try to make conversation with the patients. It was good for them but it was also good for me to be in a position to bring a little joy into their boring lives. Service to others is a value I cherish. A friend of mine said she started to help making the mandated masks that we are to wear whenever we go outside. It was a great opportunity to help others, keep myself busy, and feel I was contributing to fellow man.
The Sacramento Face Mask Project gave me the opportunity to serve again. A group of people donated the materials. Other groups cut the material to standard sizes, while another group delivered and picked up the finished masks. I was able to sew about 200 masks (see pictures). I never met with a person to show me how to sew the masks so I looked on line (something new to me) and figured out how to fold, sew, and press the masks. These masks were put into plastic bags, left outside my door, and picked up by another person. That person would also leave me another supply of materials to make more masks. The finished masks were given at no cost to organizations like the Veterans Administration and other institutions. Our project ended early January since masks are now available for purchase almost everywhere. Wearing face masks is essential but so is hand sanitizing, and social distancing.
As a practicing Catholic I went to Mass every day. We social distanced, 6 feet apart, sanitized as we walked into the church building and signed in so that if there were someone infected we could be informed to quarantine ourselves or even get tested. The governor of California eventually closed all churches. We eventually opened for a small limited number of persons in the church building together with the protocol of social distancing, sanitation, mask wearing, and signing in. Opening up for indoor Mass or services again was prohibited. A federal mandate was given in January so places of worship are now able to resume as long as the protocols are followed and a certain percentage of the capacity is enforced. To live my faith and receiving Holy Communion on a daily basis is a privilege I hold dear. It does for my soul what food does for my body. Going to church is important to me but so is being part of a community.
Zoom enters my world. I resolved to be “techy”, learn more about how to use technology. It was a steep learning curve but I approached it valiantly. My daughter, granddaughters, and other family members help me navigate the web. The trick for me was to “just do it”. I experiment and did not give up pushing buttons, or keys. Zoom is now a part of my life. I meet with friends and relatives about five times a week through Zoom, Duo, telephone conferencing, internet, email, messaging. I do most of my bill paying by phone or internet. I buy products and gifts through Amazon. Almost all business is conducted by phone or internet. If I don’t know how to do it I just “do it” by calling the company or by asking my daughter, son, or friends how to do it. They walk me through it and it gets done. It’s not always easy or smooth.
Scheduling a Covid 19 Vaccination was a long process. After the first targeted group, first responders, was met the next tier was the 75+ yr olds.
I’m obviously in that category. Kaiser Permanently got their share of vaccines but not enough. I called several times but they were no longer taking appointments until they got another batch of vaccines. “Don’t call us, we’ll call you” seemed to be the message. I tried two
counties and other hospitals that were providing the vaccines. I couldn’t get an appointment for different reasons. Finally my doctor gave me the link to be able to sign up for an appointment. I am one of the people who welcomes the vaccine but there are those who are not comfortable with the vaccine and oppose it. Respecting differences is something I think we are learning to do or at least realizing that it must remain optional. Flexibility of mind is as important as elasticity is for the body if we want to stay young.
Greatly limiting our family interaction is heartbreaking. Visiting, hugging, and just hanging out together whenever we want is almost impossible without great risks. Our holiday gatherings and birthday celebrations are kept very small or non existent. Not being able to see our elderly and/or sick family and friends is very sad for all of us. I’ve always been a part of my three eldest granddaughter’s lives. They range from 8-17. I have not been able to visit my fourth granddaughter who is now two years old. She doesn’t know me except through video and Duo phone calls. I am almost a stranger to my youngest granddaughter. I have the hope that after I get vaccinated and our situation improves I can fly safely to visit her in Idaho.
We never stop growing. Things are not just black and white. Finding the truth or the best solution for a community takes flexibility. We hear each other. We work together. We take chances. We risk. We admit our failings but we don’t give up. It’s never too late to improve. This world wide pandemic experience has allowed many of us to discoverer our priorities. There are so many aspects in our lives that have been affected by the pandemic that it would take books to describe how deep and wide this affects us all. My immediate surroundings that I’ve described here in this little essay is not all that has affected me. I have friends in other countries that have even less ability to help themselves. I am connected to them. I grieve for them and for us, but I won’t give up.
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2020-01-04
A few days after New Years 2020, I was working at RPM Italian as a polisher. The night was slightly busy but the night sky was cold. Being a polisher, my uniform would often get wet and seeing how part of my job was to throw out the linen bags, I would walk out into the cold with my wet uniform. The following days, I developed a cough and grew more persistent over time. At the time, I was prone to getting bronchitis because of an existing respiratory condition I have. I thought nothing of it and being a frequent news reader I was aware of a "pneumonia-like virus" breaking out in China, but I thought nothing of it. Over the next days, I realized that my apatite was lost and barely ate dinner because it felt that I had already eaten a large lunch. My wife chuckle and said it was probably my self-diagnosed lung infection. Thing is, I've had lung infections before and I NEVER lost my apatite. Around the same time, my father who rarely gets sick, came home from work early after getting a 103 f fever and was bedridden for three days. My little brother soon followed with my mom losing her sense of taste which she attributed to allergies or "the flu" as we thought my father and brother had. Then, on the day Kobe Bryant died, I developed a massive fever of 105 f and my coughing grew worse. I lost my apatite, I rarely slept, I had developed extreme body aches, felt chess pressure and often found myself grasping for air. My wife said that I may have developed pneumonia and I was reluctant to get it checked out because I had no insurance. Fearing for my health, I went to my healthcare provider Erie Health Center. There, I expected to be diagnosed with bronchitis, an upper respiratory tract infection or worst case scenario pneumonia. However, when the doctor saw my condition and heard my symptoms he said that it wasn't: pneumonia, bronchitis or a lung infection. Baffled I said then what do I have and he responded with: "mhmmmmm do you have asthma?" I said I did when I was younger but I out grew it. His response: "That's it. It's asthma". Unsatisfied, I said its not it because I haven't had any asthma complications in over a decade. He later said that a lung operation I had when I was three days old might be the culprit. Once again, I questioned it. He conceded and asked if I wanted to get x-rays done. I agreed and went to Northwestern Medical Center with Erie covering the costs. I got my x-rays done and I decided to go have lunch with my wife. Then, I started coughing, lost my apatite and developed a fever. We took an uber and went home were I collapsed on my bed and was knocked out cold in a nice sleep for 20 hours. The cough never went away until late February when talks of a potential lockdown to contain COVID was being discussed. I never thought much of what I had that winter until my mom got an anti-body test where she came out positive for the anti-bodies. The same day we watched a COVID special on Netflix and they highlighted the COVID symptoms. The ones that stuck out to me was: loss of apatite, chest pressure, fatigue, coughing, short-breaths, fever and trouble focusing. I clicked everything and realized: "Holy shit. I must've had COVID before it was cool" (ironically). Ever since my illness as I described, my mind has become more "foggy" with me having trouble focusing, remembering and even stuttering more often. Trouble focusing has been mentioned as a COVID complication in your post-battle with the infection. Fast forward to February 2021, I went back to Erie to get my yearly physical done expecting to hear my sugar levels were off the charts. Except, my doctor walked in and first thing he said was: "so you had problems breathing in last year January?" I gave him a stare and asked "you don't think that I had..." and he interrupted and said "sir, you either had COVID before we knew what it was or you had some exotic virus" mentioning the latter in a sarcastic tone. There I realized, how chill I took COVID and literally brushed it off multiple times as a lung infection and nothing serious when in reality it was. Had I known what I had was COVID at the time that I had it, I would have been panicking and picturing death at my door. Often, your mindset can be just as dangerous as the illness itself.
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2021-04-13
I submitted this as an account for what it is like to have both great things and bad things happen during the pandemic.
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2021-02-09
Muchos dicen que los latinos tienen menos acesso a la vacuna del COVID pero creo que hay otra razón por lo cual nuestra gente no se estan vacunando. La duda de la vacuna. En este artículo la doctora Marina Del Ríos, médica de la sala de emergencias, explica las barreras enfrentando la communidad Latina y Hispana. Este artículo tambien explica los numeros bajos de los vacunados. Es verdad que hay muchas barreras pero de lo personal e visto mucha duda entre mi communidad.
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2020-08-07
Natalia Martin Cantero comparte su experiencia con el virus. Describe como llevaba meses ecribiendo de las experiencias de otros y nunca se imagino que estubiera escribiendo de su vida personal. Su padre callo enfermo en Enero, termino en cuidado intensivos y fallecio en Abril de complicaciones a los 75 años.
Natalia Martin Cantero shares her experience with the virus. She describes how she spent months writing about others' experiences and never thought she would be writing about her personal life. Her father became ill in January, ended up in an intensive care unit, and passed away in April at the age of 75.
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2021-04-02
CNN explores the "war like" scenario Brazil is currently dealing with as they tackle a local variant.
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2021-03-27
Living in a divided nation I felt it necessary to follow various news outlets. I've realized that many times the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle. Actually, I think the truth usually lies somewhere closer to the left side but that's beside the point. I found this post by Fox News to be interesting because it talks about how conservative TV Host Laura Ingram thinks history will be written. I rarely agree with anything Fox News posts but in this case, I agree that history will record the many villains that have been exposed during the pandemic. I agree that many special interests bodies will be listed but I don't think it will include teachers. I don't think it's farfetched to say that the conservative's push to return back to school has more to do with money and less to do with children. It's funny how she says it's time to "follow the science" where were these conservatives when science said masks help stop the spread of COVID?
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2021-04-07
MSNBC reports on an alarming surge in Brazil and how it is trying to deal with a local variant and its politicians who still deny the severity of COVID-19.
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2021-04-02
Time magazine explores the effects COVID-19 has had on students, especially those who spent their last year in High School dealing with quarantine and virtual learning.
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2021-04-08
A friend shares an update on how Covid is currently affecting India and the new measures put in place to control the spread. He adds information on the US consulate because he is a US citizen living in India.
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2021-03-13
This is a reflection of the first day that Covid affected me.
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2021-03-31
I got my Moderna vaccine at the Branch- Hillsdale - St. Joseph Community Health Agency Vaccination Clinic held in Hillsdale Public High School. My first Moderna shot was on Wednesday, March 31, 2021. It was well run - I hardly had time to sit down. There was no waiting. It was held in a large gymnasium. Everyone was wearing masks, which is rare in this part of Michigan.
I was relieved & quiet while I got my shot, just taking it in. Later that night my arm was sore at the injection site. I was also exhausted that evening, but I think the exhaustion was more of a psychological response to finally starting my vaccination journey, & not a side effect of the vaccine.
My husband got his two weeks previously at a Rite Aid in Coldwater, Michigan. He also got a Moderna shot.
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2020
"El Sistema de Monitoreo Territorial es una plataforma de recolección y generación de información que hace parte del sistema de información propio de la Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia."
"The Territorial Monitoring System is a platform for collecting and generating information that is part of the information system of the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia"
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2021-04-12
This piece describes the minor hardships I have experienced during Covid as a young man who happens to be Asian.
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2020-07
This data is presented by Talia Quandelacy, Infectious Disease Epidemiologist and Native American, to illustrate COVID-19 cases/deaths in Native American communities in July 2020, from publicly available information.
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2020-07-25
Even the Bigfoot inside Saturday's discount store/gas station in Leadville, Colorado wears a mask. I took this photo while getting gas and snacks over the summer. It made me smile after a hard week- if Bigfoot can do it, so can I.
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2021-03-26
While I was looking around the internet for updates on COVID, I came across the information from www.covidactnow.com that Jackson, Michigan was the top Daily New COVID Cases per 100k people in the country. This was on March 26, 2021. As of April 10, 2021, (when I submitted this information) Jackson was still in the number 1 metro spot. This where my family lives & where I work. This was very upsetting to me.
Many people still don’t wear masks. And if they do, many wear them under their nose. In some ways, I’m not surprised (but disappointed) that the virus really started to circulate here because of the way the community doesn’t respect public health orders.
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2021-03-12
I am on Twitter. I have used Twitter as a news source since before the pandemic broke in early 2020. This is a screen shot of how I learned my husband (who has pre-existing medical conditions & is 43 years old) & I ( 38 years old) would be eligible to get vaccinated. I will never forget this moment. I felt elated, joyful, & relieved. It was like a cloud that I didn’t even know was looming over me had lifted.
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2021-03-06
Wanting to see the grandkids, my in-laws stopped by. They live about 45 minutes away. Everyone was outside, keeping about 6 ft apart with masks on while the kids played.
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2021-02-19
My daughter turned five on February 19, 2021. We had no family or friends over to celebrate. We had individual Zoom calls with each set of grandparents & a Zoom birthday cake celebration with all of the aunts, uncle, cousins, a great aunt & grandparents late in the evening.
People sent their gifts ahead of time. She opened them throughout the day. We gave our daughter her birthday gifts, too.
This particular photo is showing virtual Bingo. One set of grandparents sent over a Bingo card set & they had a copy of the same one. We played the game virtually. My daughter had a lot of fun.
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2021-04-03
Conversation with Armani Richard and the impact of COVID-19 on Arizona education. Currently studying at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College and fulfilling a promising career in the Army.
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2021-04-11
Conversation with Kristina Erickson an Arizona K-12 educator. Ms. Erickson weigh-ins on the March 15th executive order, in-person instruction, COVID protocols and procedures, and the future of education in her community
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2021-04-12
This is a comprehensive (but not exhaustive) list of the most common Corona themed vocabulary used by in the U.S. While a definition of each term is not provided, linked websites provide context and explanations of many of the words. Culled from a variety of real world sources, what is most important about these terms is what their use says about the culture they created/were used in. From the use of everyday pandemic language, researchers can gain a window into the COVID experience in a way that is inaccessible even in photographs. These terms also show the United States was undergoing dramatic social and cultural change and some terms highlight the political conflict that was often meshed with Corona in the U.S. The vocabulary also shows a degree of conformity in U.S. culture as all of these terms became part of most Americans' vocabulary. The case of the work "healthcare worker" and "virtual" are two examples of this. Before medical staff, nurse doctor, EMT, online, distance learning, etc. were used to refer to these things, but now Americans have dropped them for the COVID versions. This shows how powerful Corona vocabulary has become.
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2020-11-01
Hello,
My name is Melaine, I live in Hughesdale, Victoria, Australia and I would like to share this story of subtle community spirit that came through during the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020.
I am also legally blind.
Thank you for your time.
Melaine
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0004-04-12
This is an image of a sign that says stay six feet apart. This "six feet apart" phrase was created because of the CDC guidelines that if you stay six feet apart from another person you are "safe" from contracting COVID-19.
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2021-04-11
On March 11, 2021, the Arizona State Health Department reported seven counties, including Maricopa, were coded as "substantial transmission rate", however, this rate is technically one level under the serious risk categories. The remaining counties (six) were deemed "moderate" and were set to reopen by March 15. The NPR article argues about the irrelevancy of the order because more than half of the schools in the county are offering some form of in-person instruction, this order didn't change much for that particular school. For some schools, Osborn and Cartwright, the order actually sped their reopening date. In the Osborn case, school officials pushed for reopening because they confirmed that more than half of their teachers had been vaccinated. In places like Coconino and Pinal counties where transmission levels are exceedingly high, the school districts are exempt from reopening. Again, the effectiveness of the March 15th executive order is questionable at best.
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2020-04-10
Graduate student Colin Larter from Minnesota State University is seeking participants for a survey focusing on service industry and factory workers to share their experience about their jobs. The survey is completely anonymous, and he is planning to utilize the data he gathers for his thesis. As a former retail worker, he understands the importance of sharing these experiences. This flyer was shared on the Target reddit page, and likely other places on the internet, in hopes that there would be a variety of individuals participating.
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2020
Because of the struggle the pandemic has put on small businesses and restaurants, Thrillest has created a webpage that lists a variety of businesses with links to merchandise, donation pages, and places to buy gift cards. By providing this support, Thrillest is trying to prevent any small businesses from closing due to the pandemic, and are spreading the word about small businesses that need support to encourage people to support them rather than large companies that aren't necessarily struggling during this time. They hope to serve the service industry, providing direct support for businesses in many major cities across the U.S.
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2021
While some states are lifting their mask mandates, many regions and companies are still asking people to wear them in order to protect both employees and fellow individuals. While there are official printable signs available from both government sites and the CDC, there are also more stable signs for sale that can be displayed at places of business. This shows how industries adapt to current issues, as two years ago these signs were nonexistent, but are now fairly common at places that would like to protect their employees. Even with signs such as these, there is still conflict arising regarding masks, more than a year after the pandemic became a worldwide concern. These signs are an additional expense for businesses, but could prove to be more noticeable than a paper in the window.
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2021-03-21
This video utilizes a Tiktok trend involving a specific audio as well as filter to illustrate internet issues an individual is facing. The audio is a clip from the song 'Got Me Good' by Ciara.
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2024-01-26
This tiktok is from an individual showing several site outages/internet connectivity issues across multiple major sites. The caption indicates that he was trying to complete his work when faced with this issue. He is utilizing a site that indicates which sites are down which is shown in the video.
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2021-03-11
This short video from Tiktok is about an individual dealing with internet issues and being frustrated about connectivity issues. It seems in part to be satirical as he unplugs and plugs the modem back in.
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2021-04-11
This academic article is in the Lancet, a medical journal. I chose this because it is public, unlike some academic articles, and it is, as of right now, a pretty unique research article. Although it is done in the UK, it reviewed medical records, both physical and mental, from 2017 to 2020. The changes are a little surprising, as the largest reductions in health care at the start of the restrictions were diabetic emergencies, depression, and self-harm. This is something I have seen a lot in my research into the unintended consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental illness is the last thing to be cared for in a pandemic, or even in other natural disasters. The consequences on human health from this pandemic are only just now coming to light. This journal entry covers in-depth research and I highly suggest it.
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2021-04-11
I know I have presented a pretty eye catching and exciting title, but the fact of the matter is, they aren't going down. The amount of people who have cancer has not plummeted, as the title suggests. Rather, the statistics have gone down. As the article states, "new findings offer grim evidence of the consequences of delayed care: A rise in undetected cancers that, when eventually diagnosed, may be more advanced and difficult to treat." I think this is a great reminder that statistics are not the people they represent, and many things effect the numbers. This is relevant to my research on the unintended consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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2021-04-11
I have been researching the unintended consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. One consequence that interests me the most is people missing important specialist appointments for things like heart disease or cancer. I would have assumed that it would be the lower class skipping these appointments the most due to the fact that is many cases it is already harder for lower class people to get to regular appointments. But this article proves my thought wrong, and states that the lower and middle class people have less opportunity to miss these appointments. They tend to have more healthcare problems, according to the article, and therefore need the appointments more. In addition, the numbers might reflect the fact that lower income people don't go to the doctor as much as higher income people in general, therefore the numbers were low to begin with. The article is a very interesting read and I highly suggest it.
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2021-01-21
These pictures are a collection of Corona themed products from summer 2020 to January 2021. As you can see, there was a great variety of products and some of the most unusual appeared starting 2021. Of particular note is the coffee mug and a small wall plaque. Even the infant phrases "Social distancing" and "Healthcare worker" had crept into daily items in real stores. By fall, masks were being advertised in stores on long plastic hangers and had become just as common on random aisles as dish gloves, scrubber pads, and dryer balls. By January 2021, companies had begun to get creative with masks and shields. The final picture shows a set of children's face shields encased with the features of animal heads. This was likely to appeal to children who like to pretend to be animals. One company also began to make masks in small, medium, large, and extra large, to accommodate the variety of face shapes among the public (not pictured). The most important thing about all these products is that they show how deeply embedded Corona had become in United States culture despite the fact that it was not even a year since the virus appeared in the U.S. This indicates that companies were actively involved in both creating and maintaining a COVID consumer culture that tied what people experienced to what they could buy. Although more difficult to determine, it also shows a demand for such items both out of necessity (masks) and for leisure or fun (mug, animal shields). These items also reveal that COVID-19 was a highly unique event in that it was so marketable. No other event in the 21st century generated as much cultural/societal presence as Corona. These products should be further studied to see what better understanding about Corona can be gained from them.
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2021-04-11
A year of my life…
I tour ASU and decide it will be my college. Coronavirus arrives. My high school senior year abruptly ends. My twelfth and final season of high school baseball is cancelled. Our state goes on lockdown and we all stay home. Easter. No family get together. Church is closed. People around the world start to die by the thousands. Fear and anger spreads around social media. My grandfather falls and breaks his jaw and is in the hospital for a month. My older brothers and sisters keep their jobs but work from home. My nephew’s schools and daycares close.
George Floyd dies at the hands of the police in Minnesota. All hell breaks loose in Portland…protests, riots, looting everywhere. Everyone takes sides. Blacks vs the police, the establishment, the government. Politician vs politician. Family member vs family member. Violence, tear gas, extremists. Whites stand with blacks. Moms join in protest. Black Lives Matter. All Lives Matter. No don’t say that. That is racist.
Churches protest. They want to stay open. Freedom to worship, they say. Over 230 people get Covid at a Pentecostal church in Oregon. Pastors downplay the risks of the coronavirus, then die of coronavirus. They lose their battle in the courts.
A wedding in Maine…55 guests…177 get sick with Covid…7 die – none of whom were at the wedding. A superspreader event.
Superspreader. Our new vocabulary.
Wear your mask. Our new normal.
Another suicide in my school district. I turn 18. I am registered for classes at ASU but attending is up in the air. I work as a GrubHub deliverer because everyone is ordering food from home. We get together with family outdoors. I have a graduation party…in July. Graduated seniors get to play a couple of baseball games at the local minor league field. I am undefeated for my senior season. I pitch, hit, and field well. What might have been…
August comes. August 15…I move into Hassayampa…115 degrees…new roommate…I start college…I get Covid…so does my roommate…so does our suitemate…and many others…September 8…I move out of Hassayampa…my roommate and I move into an apartment. Life gets better. Fires sweep through Oregon. And California. And Arizona. ASU cancels finals week. Election. All hell breaks loose. Again. I move home before Thanksgiving. My brother-in-law gets sick with Covid 19. My brother and sister-in-law get sick with Covid 19. My first term of college ends. Christmas.
Politics. I won. No, I won. Sounds like kindergarten. These people run our government?
I delete most of my social media. I am sick of it. I am sick of everybody. Sick of this year.
January. ASU cancels spring break. Back to school. Things are different. The newness has worn off. Covid is a drag. School is a drag. I lose my best friend.
I go home. I go back.
Ice storm in Portland…power out…broken trees.
I go home. I go back.
Trying to keep going. Trying to survive. Class is a blur. I stare at the screen. The information goes through me. I am not there. I do my homework. I bomb my exams. My grades are ok…but am I learning anything? Who knows? Who cares? School will be over soon.
Virtual work. Virtual school. Virtual life.
I will finish the year with over 40 credits. I will never have stepped foot in a college classroom. I will never have talked to a college professor. I will have met very few people.
Fall will come.
I will be starting over.
We all will be.
I hope.
#REL101
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2020-05-28
These are pictures of one-way-only signs posted in a Texas Walmart on May 28th and June 11 2020. Many stores such as HEB, Target, and Sam's Club also had similar signs in there stores. The purpose of these signs was to encourage the public to walk in only one direction on each aisle of the store. Stores created an elaborate zig zag pattern using this method. At the time, it was thought that the risk of contracting COVID could be minimized by keeping people from congregating in the same space such as going in and out of the same aisle entrance. Some peopled followed the signs, but it was not a state law so others did not. These photos are important because they show the great extent stores took to try and minimize the spread of COVID. Stores were very concerned about projecting the image of a safe shopping experience in their stores. However, they also hint at the legalistic bent many COVID precautions were beginning to take on. Another implied effect of this arrangement was that by encouraging all people to go in the same direction, stores increased the risk that their customers might catch COVID-19 as everyone was to follow the exact path the person in front of them had. This was the type of situation these signs were supposed to prevent.
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2021-04-03
This is an oral history interview with Joan Church and Keith Sciarra. Keith gives his insight on how covid-19 has affected wildlife. Keith has many years working within wildlife, specifically with dolphins and ocean life. He gives us advice on how we can help the cause after covid and talks on the topic of ocean conservation.
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2021-04-11
At the start of the pandemic, the state of Massachusetts Department of Public Health shut down EMT psychomotor exams which meant that we could not certify new EMTs for several months. This is a terrible thing for an industry that was already having staffing problems before the pandemic began. Then in the summer, the state began to allow us to hold the exams again but under significant restrictions. We had to limit our exams to 8 students which meant that we were forced to hold several small exams instead on one larger one (a logistical nightmare). The students had to do the exam in full PPE with constant hand-washing and sanitation requirements.
This past week, the state sent out new provisions regarding psychomotor exams. Thankfully, now we can hold larger exams again. Many of the other regulations are still in place, but the fact that we can have all of our students test at the same time makes things so much easier.
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2021-03-17
There are socialization concerns among adults and adolescents, and most are aware of the reasons behind that. However, children still in early developmental stages (infants, toddlers) may struggle in the long-term.
The article primarily revolves around the words and expertise of senior scientist at Haskins Laboratories and a professor adjunct at the Yale Child Study Center, David Lewkowicz. There are physical, emotional, and mental struggles that could negatively impact early childhood development. Examples of these struggles are with how they learn languages by visual and auditory associations, which can be difficult with masks. Another related to masks is facial recognition.
Lewkowicz isn't filled with bad news, though. More time and direct attention given to face-to-face interactions and more explicit expressions of emotions can help compensate. These early years are when children are very adaptable as they take in the world around them, so there is hope for more perceptive children coming out of the pandemic rather than a decline.
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2021-04-06
This is an article about the variants of COVID-19 that are either present or emerging in the United States. It is meant to keep EMS providers informed with up-to-date information so that they can provide the best care to patients. Some of the variants are more dangerous/have more symptoms than others. It notes that there is 5 variants of concern, which have increased transmissibility and increased hospitalizations/deaths. While this is not great news, it is a good thing that there are currently no variants in the world that are considered variants of high consequence by the CDC, which essentially means that medicine does not have effective means of treating it. Hopefully this remains the case and we can start to see a drop off of the variants of concern soon.
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2021-04-07
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the controversial governor of New York, announced earlier this month that they plan to build a monument to first responders in New York City. First responders were among the group of people that were on the front lines of the pandemic response. This monument will be designed to honor the efforts and sacrifices by New York's first responders. In the coming months and years, I think we will see many other states do a similar thing for their first responders and healthcare workers.
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2021-04-10
In order to relieve some stress for COVID-19 testing, the BC Children's hospital in Vancouver, Canada is supplying 1,200 testing kits to 1,000 schools. It's supposed to be replenished as needed. However, the main purpose is to make testing more accessible (without medical facility visitations). Those who show symptoms, or simply get a runny nose, may be sent home.
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2021
California is soon expanding their vaccine eligibility to 16 and older on April 15, 2021. The plans for expanding it even more aren't expected to be for sometime. However, the announcement from Pfizer-BioNTech stating that the vaccine is safe and effective for 12 and older does give some hope for a quicker time frame.
The is a focus on giving children and adolescents back their youth. There are schools opening with hybrid instructions (online and on-site instruction), but there the on-site hours are always rotating students to minimize crowd interaction.
The article goes on to include opinions from parents of adolescents, which emphasized the importance of getting everyone (school faculty and students alike) vaccinated. Everyone seems eager to get back to pre-pandemic life as soon as possible, so the eligibility expansion does receive as good news and gives the public hope.
Naturally, however, it’s not all good news as people need to remain informed and cautious. The article reminds us that variants of the virus have the potential to harm younger children. Notably, it’s the B117 strain that’s been said by Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, that can be “50% to 60% more contagious than other strains of Covid-19” from his observations of Minnesota schools.
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2021-04-06
With a goal of 200 million vaccine shots by the 100th day in office, President Biden announced that the deadline (May 1) for eligibility will move up to April 19.
Actions to vaccinate the country are speeding up. This motion will open up eligibility to “90% of adults”. States such as New Jersey, South Dakota and Nebraska plan to expand that eligibility to 16 and older even sooner to the deadline. Naturally, part of the process is to market the vaccine to the general public, especially to the ones hesitant to get the vaccine. That funding is coming from the COVID-19 economic relief package ($1.9 trillion).
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2021-04-10
Californian schools are opening back up, but there continue to be concerns over employees and their families. Although there have been some employees working at schools the past year (i.e. custodians), those working remotely (i.e. teachers) continue to face challenges in child care. Due to this, "Los Angeles Unified School District earlier this week announced it would provide a day care stipend of $500 a month for each child under age 5 to all full-time employees, including teachers."
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU 1021) did clarify within the article by Sacramento Bee that some demands could not be met. Among the demands was a one-time stipend amount of $1,500 for employees with children aged 3 - 14. This is an ongoing issue with its latest update on April 10, 2021 being: a weekly stipend of $125 for employees with children aged under 14.
This represents one of the issues employees of educational institutions are facing. They’re hesitant to return to in-person instruction. Although there’s a fair amount of news coverage of children returning to school, the ones hesitant (especially those responsible for the school to run smoothly) should also be acknowledged.
