Item
GB Oral History, 2022/04/19
Media
Title (Dublin Core)
GB Oral History, 2022/04/19
Description (Dublin Core)
The interviewee discusses vaccine hesitancy and life during the pandemic without having received the vaccine.
Recording Date (Dublin Core)
Creator (Dublin Core)
Event Identifier (Dublin Core)
Partner (Dublin Core)
Type (Dublin Core)
oral history
Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)
English
Pandemic Skeptics
English
Conflict
English
Education--Universities
English
Government Federal
English
Health & Wellness
English
Home & Family Life
English
Science
English
Social Distance
Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)
Contributor's Tags (a true folksonomy) (Friend of a Friend)
Collection (Dublin Core)
Date Submitted (Dublin Core)
04/19/2022
Date Modified (Dublin Core)
04/21/2022
04/28/2022
05/21/2022
12/29/2022
Date Created (Dublin Core)
04/19/2022
Interviewer (Bibliographic Ontology)
LT
Interviewee (Bibliographic Ontology)
GB
Location (Omeka Classic)
Buffalo
New York
United States of America
Format (Dublin Core)
audio
Coverage (Dublin Core)
03/13/2020 - 04/19/2022
Language (Dublin Core)
English
Duration (Omeka Classic)
00:07:28
Transcription (Omeka Classic)
GB Oral History - 2022/04/19
LT 0:01
Alright, I'm here with and just to make sure I have your consent to record this and posted on JOTPY.
GB 0:06
Yep, sure thing.
LT 0:08
Alright. So what is your age?
GB 0:13
I'm 21 years old.
LT 0:15
Are you in school or working?
GB 0:17
Yeah, I'm in school right now. And also just working on the side part time.
LT 0:22
And did you work through the pandemic?
GB 0:26
So no actually, I had lost my job due to the pandemic, then I was on unemployment for a while, and then I've just been trying to find jobs. And right now I'm Door-Dashing, as a part time jobs to get some side money.
LT 0:42
And have you received your COVID-19 vaccine?
GB 0:45
No, I have not.
LT 0:47
Why did you elect not to be vaccinated?
GB 0:49
Honestly, like, I'm not really against vaccines, per se. It was just like, the the timing of when the vaccine came out and the climate of like, like, just like the political climate, um, all of the pressure behind taking it. And just, I don't know, it just seemed off to me. So
LT 1:17
Do you know anyone who received the vaccine and experienced negative side effects?
GB 1:22
Um, I mean, I have he had really bad back pain when he got his vaccine. I know people that have got sick from it. Not like severe. But yeah.
LT 1:38
Do you believe you would have opted to get the vaccine had the man- mandate not been instituted?
GB 1:42
Probably not just because like, again, of like, even forgetting about the mandates, like, just COVID-19 itself, in my eyes came as like, just a really quick, like, it just all came at once. And it was just like, a lot to take in. So I was really skeptical to begin with.
LT 2:08
And have you contracted COVID?
GB 2:11
Um, yeah, once.
LT 2:14
Just one time?
GB 2:14
Yeah.
LT 2:17
Has your unvaccinated status prohibited you from attending social events?
GB 2:22
So in the fall, at UB I wasn't able to go to the football games. Um, and it actually took a while to get an approved exemption to go to school and to be on campus. And, um, I actually have to test every week just to comply with the university, um, because I don't have the vaccine. So I mean, there's a lot of things that I have to do just to not take that shot.
LT 2:57
Right. So that was the next question. As for guidelines, you have to follow as a result of that, that would be the testing every week.
GB 3:03
Yeah.
LT 3:04
Okay.
GB 3:04
Testing every week. And if you miss more than two tests, or two weeks of testing, then you can be de-enrolled from all your classes with no. With no financial refund. So
LT 3:20
Has your unvaccinated status affected your ability to find work?
GB 3:24
Yeah, it has actually. So this summer, I've been looking for jobs in my field that I'm studying, and I found two really good jobs. I love the overview of them. And then of course, like at the end of the application, it says like, we require all employees to be vaccinated. So
LT 3:48
Have you been hesitant to attend social events where large gatherings may occur since the start of the pandemic?
GB 3:53
Um, I haven't really gone out that much. But I can say I did want to go to a bills game a few times. And I was obviously unable to do that. Because, you know, they required vaccine mandates. And, uh, yeah.
LT 4:16
Have you found that your peers share your hesitancy to receive the vaccine?
GB 4:22
Yeah, I mean, I have a few peers. Mostly it's like home friends. It's not friends from college. My brothers are also hesitant towards the vaccine. So we definitely shared some of the same beliefs
LT 4:39
And kind of a follow up for that. Have you lost any relationships with people, um, due to the fact that you didn't receive the vaccine?
GB 4:46
No, I don't really lost any relationships. There's definitely been arguments and debates, but most of my friends are pretty good with understanding my side of it.
LT 5:00
Do you feel that since the start of the pandemic, the government handled the outbreak well, or- and the mandates for masks and vaccines effectively? And if not, what would you have done to change that?
GB 5:11
Um, I mean, personally, I think a lot of the like misinformation on media, whether the vaccine works, or it doesn't work, it confused a lot of people. And it made a lot of people skeptical, and they didn't know what to believe in. And, um, I don't know, I would just say, like, just getting the right information out there. And also making sure that like, what these large pharmaceutical companies are saying is 100% true, and they have, uh, facts that they can show to back it. Um, yeah.
LT 5:58
Where do you look for information on the state of the pandemic and information about vaccines and um effectiveness?
GB 6:04
So because I'm skeptical, people might say, well, you're probably biased to one side, but I actually like to give myself every perspective I can, like, I try and I try and look into several media outlets, news sources, um, ones that you should be skeptical about, just to see what they're saying ones that you should trust, just to see what they're saying. And I just try and make my own thoughts of everything that I've taken in.
LT 6:39
And how did you stay safe during the early months of outbreak?
GB 6:44
So there's just a lot of like, just following pretty much what was I mean, pretty much what the guidelines were to just like wash your hands and to limit like, who you're seeing, limit large gatherings. But I would say, um, even with going to, like several large events and not contracting COVID My thoughts on staying safe are definitely skewed.
LT 7:20
Okay. Um, it is Tuesday, April 19. And it is 10:53pm. Thank you for your time.
GB 7:26
Yup.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
LT 0:01
Alright, I'm here with and just to make sure I have your consent to record this and posted on JOTPY.
GB 0:06
Yep, sure thing.
LT 0:08
Alright. So what is your age?
GB 0:13
I'm 21 years old.
LT 0:15
Are you in school or working?
GB 0:17
Yeah, I'm in school right now. And also just working on the side part time.
LT 0:22
And did you work through the pandemic?
GB 0:26
So no actually, I had lost my job due to the pandemic, then I was on unemployment for a while, and then I've just been trying to find jobs. And right now I'm Door-Dashing, as a part time jobs to get some side money.
LT 0:42
And have you received your COVID-19 vaccine?
GB 0:45
No, I have not.
LT 0:47
Why did you elect not to be vaccinated?
GB 0:49
Honestly, like, I'm not really against vaccines, per se. It was just like, the the timing of when the vaccine came out and the climate of like, like, just like the political climate, um, all of the pressure behind taking it. And just, I don't know, it just seemed off to me. So
LT 1:17
Do you know anyone who received the vaccine and experienced negative side effects?
GB 1:22
Um, I mean, I have he had really bad back pain when he got his vaccine. I know people that have got sick from it. Not like severe. But yeah.
LT 1:38
Do you believe you would have opted to get the vaccine had the man- mandate not been instituted?
GB 1:42
Probably not just because like, again, of like, even forgetting about the mandates, like, just COVID-19 itself, in my eyes came as like, just a really quick, like, it just all came at once. And it was just like, a lot to take in. So I was really skeptical to begin with.
LT 2:08
And have you contracted COVID?
GB 2:11
Um, yeah, once.
LT 2:14
Just one time?
GB 2:14
Yeah.
LT 2:17
Has your unvaccinated status prohibited you from attending social events?
GB 2:22
So in the fall, at UB I wasn't able to go to the football games. Um, and it actually took a while to get an approved exemption to go to school and to be on campus. And, um, I actually have to test every week just to comply with the university, um, because I don't have the vaccine. So I mean, there's a lot of things that I have to do just to not take that shot.
LT 2:57
Right. So that was the next question. As for guidelines, you have to follow as a result of that, that would be the testing every week.
GB 3:03
Yeah.
LT 3:04
Okay.
GB 3:04
Testing every week. And if you miss more than two tests, or two weeks of testing, then you can be de-enrolled from all your classes with no. With no financial refund. So
LT 3:20
Has your unvaccinated status affected your ability to find work?
GB 3:24
Yeah, it has actually. So this summer, I've been looking for jobs in my field that I'm studying, and I found two really good jobs. I love the overview of them. And then of course, like at the end of the application, it says like, we require all employees to be vaccinated. So
LT 3:48
Have you been hesitant to attend social events where large gatherings may occur since the start of the pandemic?
GB 3:53
Um, I haven't really gone out that much. But I can say I did want to go to a bills game a few times. And I was obviously unable to do that. Because, you know, they required vaccine mandates. And, uh, yeah.
LT 4:16
Have you found that your peers share your hesitancy to receive the vaccine?
GB 4:22
Yeah, I mean, I have a few peers. Mostly it's like home friends. It's not friends from college. My brothers are also hesitant towards the vaccine. So we definitely shared some of the same beliefs
LT 4:39
And kind of a follow up for that. Have you lost any relationships with people, um, due to the fact that you didn't receive the vaccine?
GB 4:46
No, I don't really lost any relationships. There's definitely been arguments and debates, but most of my friends are pretty good with understanding my side of it.
LT 5:00
Do you feel that since the start of the pandemic, the government handled the outbreak well, or- and the mandates for masks and vaccines effectively? And if not, what would you have done to change that?
GB 5:11
Um, I mean, personally, I think a lot of the like misinformation on media, whether the vaccine works, or it doesn't work, it confused a lot of people. And it made a lot of people skeptical, and they didn't know what to believe in. And, um, I don't know, I would just say, like, just getting the right information out there. And also making sure that like, what these large pharmaceutical companies are saying is 100% true, and they have, uh, facts that they can show to back it. Um, yeah.
LT 5:58
Where do you look for information on the state of the pandemic and information about vaccines and um effectiveness?
GB 6:04
So because I'm skeptical, people might say, well, you're probably biased to one side, but I actually like to give myself every perspective I can, like, I try and I try and look into several media outlets, news sources, um, ones that you should be skeptical about, just to see what they're saying ones that you should trust, just to see what they're saying. And I just try and make my own thoughts of everything that I've taken in.
LT 6:39
And how did you stay safe during the early months of outbreak?
GB 6:44
So there's just a lot of like, just following pretty much what was I mean, pretty much what the guidelines were to just like wash your hands and to limit like, who you're seeing, limit large gatherings. But I would say, um, even with going to, like several large events and not contracting COVID My thoughts on staying safe are definitely skewed.
LT 7:20
Okay. Um, it is Tuesday, April 19. And it is 10:53pm. Thank you for your time.
GB 7:26
Yup.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Item sets
This item was submitted on April 19, 2022 by [anonymous user] using the form “Share Your Story” on the site “A Journal of the Plague Year”: https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive
Click here to view the collected data.