Items

2022-06-26

Remember when it wasn't "your body, your choice"?

This is an Instagram post from dontfollowpatrick. This is a meme posted regarding bodily autonomy. For pandemic skeptics, "my body, my choice" has been common rhetoric with things like masks and vaccines. Dissenters claim that it is not a valid argument because the actions of one person in a public health crisis affect other people around them. With things like abortion, it is seen as an individual decision that does not affect others the way not wearing a mask would.

2022-06-26

Custom face masks

This is an Instagram post from createandimpressla. This company is offering customizable masks, where you can submit and image you like and have it be made into a mask. The picture attached shows just some ways people have customized masks.

2022-06-25

It's called projection

This is a tweet from RealLyndaCarter. Lynda Carter is famous for her role in the Wonder Woman TV series. Here, she is expressing anger at those who hated COVID safety precautions wanting to control what people do with their health on abortion.

2022-06-23

Most pharmacies in the US can't give your infant or toddler a COVID shot. Here's why

This is a news story from USA Today by Adrianna Rodriguez. Most US pharmacies don't allow their technicians to administer the vaccine to children under five. The age in which the vaccines can be ministered to younger kids varies, with most putting a minimum of five or above. A lot of the reason administering vaccines has been restricted, according to the article, is because not enough pharmacists are trained to give shots to children that young. The overall target is smaller, and the needle even shorter, in addition to needing to calm and anxious child. This makes people hesitant to give young kids the COVID vaccine. It is recommended that if you cannot find a pharmacy that will give the shot to very young kids that you ask your pediatrician for a one-on-one appointment for the vaccine.

2022-06-22

Hand sanitizer and hair net station at Feed My Starving Children

This was one thing I saw at Feed My Starving Children while volunteering there. By rules on food handling from the FDA, everyone is supposed to wear hair nets while working with the food. However, the hand sanitizer was new to me. The check-in wasn't through a computer like it was before, when I volunteered years prior to COVID. People had to go up and say the group they were with, and the check-in was next to the hand sanitizer and hair net station. Due to the facility handling food, hand washing stations were also in the building, but many of these precautions aren't COVID related so much as abiding by FDA guidelines.

2022-06-22

Face mask sign at Feed My Starving Children in Arizona

This was a sign I saw on June 22, 2022 while volunteering at Feed My Starving Children. Upon entering, I was worried that I would need a mask in order to participate. It turns out, masks were not mandatory. Some people that did come at the session I did were wearing masks, but a good majority of people were not. One of the coordinators said that now they are able to host up to 125 people at a time for a session. At the very beginning when things were just opening up again, that number was at 10. The coordinator said that if things go to plan, FMSC should be able to host 145 people at a time, increasing the amount of pallets that can be shipped across the world to help children in need

2022-06-17

The Pandemic ‘Baby Bust’ and Rebound

This is a news story from National Academics by Sara Frueh. It goes over the data of births throughout the pandemic. Melissa Kearney, a professor of economics at the University of Maryland, says that there was this idea at the beginning of the pandemic that it would lead to a baby boom with people being forced to stay home, but it did not. She adds that closed or limited facilities at the height of the pandemic maybe impacted some people. To support the claim, she brings up the pandemic from 1918-1919 and how that also led to decreased birth rates. An analysis of the data from Kearney states there were 62,000 fewer conceptions in the years from 2020-2021. There was a small increase in conception rates in the summer of 2020, but fell into decline again soon afterwards. The overall trend that Kearney sees with the birth and conception rates is that is has been a steady decline after COVID.

2022-06-14

Victoria Clark Biography Sheet

This biography was created out of a self-directed project from the HST580 class. This biography will be linked to the submissions of the person mentioned in the document and title.

2022-06-14

Mark Tebeau Biography Sheet

This biography was created out of a self-directed project from the HST580 class. This biography will be linked to the submissions of the person mentioned in the document and title.

2022-06-14

Kathleen Kole de Peralta Biography Sheet

This biography was created out of a self-directed project from the HST580 class. This biography will be linked to the submissions of the person mentioned in the document and title.

2022-06-10

Tokyo reports 1,600 new cases of coronavirus on Friday

This is an article from NHK World-Japan. There have been more COVID-19 cases reported in Tokyo, Japan. However, the article reports that the cases have been in decline despite these new 1,600 cases. The Japan Times website, they have a timeline that discusses the same 1,600 new cases, but also shows an Outbreak map of Japan's current cases, deaths, testing, and other things. This is a reminder that Japan is still struggling with the virus, but there is some hope with the cases decreasing weekly.

2022-06-09

Sharing source-backed information can help reduce COVID-19 misinformation online

This is a news story from Penn State University by Jessica Hallman. A recent study has shown that user corrections given back and forth on social media has helped reduce the spread of misinformation. Through sharing source-backed information, people were able to pick out fake news easier.

2022-06-11

US will end Covid-19 testing requirement for air travelers entering the country

This is a news story from CNN by Kaitlan Collins. The CDC is expected to lift the requirement for air travelers to test negative for COVID before entering the US. The travel industry has been lobbying the CDC for months regarding this issue after it was no longer determined that the restrictions are no longer "based on the science and data." However, just because it is getting lifted now, the CDC does have the power to reinstate this restriction if a new variant develops and causes concern.

2022-06-11

Adolescents eating less ultra-processed food during COVID-19 pandemic

This is a news story from Healio by Michael Monostra. During the COVID pandemic, adolescents are eating less processed food. "In an interim analysis of the Processed Intake Evaluation (PIE) study of 452 adolescents and young adults presented at ENDO 2022, participants reported eating less ultra-processed food during the first 2 years of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 compared with prior to 2020. Ultra-processed food consumption dropped further in 2022 when COVID-19 restrictions eased."

2022-06-09

Pilot Shortage Forces American Airlines To Stop Flying 100 Regional Jets

This is a news story from Travel Awaits by Amy Sward. Due to a pilot shortage, nearly 100 planes are sitting idle because there are not enough people to fly them. Part of the reason for this pilot shortage is because of COVID. It is due to both buyouts and some pilots being forced into retirement due to age requirements. The shortage of pilots has created hiring sprees where companies like American Airlines are offering better pay and work schedules to lure people into flying for them. American Airlines plans to hire 2,000 pilots in 2022.

2022-06-10

From Sourdough to Inflation: How the Pandemic Changed the Way We Eat

This is a news story from Eater by Jamie Feldmar. This chronicles the changing food habits of people throughout the pandemic. In 2020, there was a wave of panic buying for things like flour, canned soups, and frozen vegetables. The use of grocery store delivery apps also increased that year. Instacart, a grocery delivery app, saw a 229% sales increase. With the panic buying came people looking for ways to use up things like canned goods and dried pasta. Things like sheet pan dinners, salads, and other easy meals became sought after in that time. Another change that occurred was people trying food trends popular during the pandemic. Things such as sourdough and whipped coffee were major food trends of that time. Meal kit delivery rose during the pandemic. Blue Apron had subscriptions to their food service skyrocket. Hello Fresh did as well, and was forced to close down temporarily to hire 3,000 extra workers to tackle the rising demand. In 2021, other food trends occurred while many restaurants and other dining establishments could not operate at full capacity. Things like espresso martinis and the dalgona candy, and candy made popular by the TV show Squid Game, were just some of those food trends. The food trends were not without labor issues though. In October 2021, Kellogg's workers went on strike, which affected the supply chains of that brand. Supply chain issues have become an ongoing problem since the beginning of the pandemic. In February 2022, the US temporarily shut down avocado imports from Mexico, making the food more expensive. With supply chain issues comes rising inflation. According to the USDA, food prices in 2022 were expected to rise between 6.5% to 7.5% increases. The Russian war with Ukraine cited as one of those causes. May 2022 saw a baby formula shortage, where 40% of baby formula was out of stock. Today, the USDA is looking to learn from the pandemic and the food issues that are occurring. One way they are doing this is through "a framework to transform the food system," which has the focus on building a more resilient supply chain while providing for rural and underserved communities. My own prediction is that the supply chain issues will mean more local food and less imported food overall in the United States. This means opening more food processing plants and increasing work domestically within the food industry to meet demands. The global food system is very fragile to things like pandemics and war. If food prices are to ever get lowered as well, it is important that more food gets produced and used locally. It would have the added benefit of being more environmentally friendly too, as the food would not have to be shipped as far away to where it gets used.

2022-06-10

Smithfield Foods to shutter California meat-packing plant

This is a news story from ABC News by The Associated Press. The shutdown of the Smithfield Foods plant in California is happening in part due to COVID. Some 300 employees were exposed to the virus in 2020, which created labor issues. Due to the exposure, California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health fined the company $60,000.

2022-06-09

Columbia Pride Month events to return to full capacity, celebrate LGBTQ community

This is a news story from Columbia Missourian by Chloe-Ryan Woolfolk. After two years of either cancellations or limited capacities, Pride Month events in Columbia will be returning to full capacity. Listed in the article are local events that people can attend now, with lists of fees and general details.

2022-06-10

Pride is back — and more expensive than ever

This is a news story from The Washington Post by JD Shadel. Due to the last two years of Pride Month remaining virtual due to COVID, some changes have been made along with it. Included in the changes since COVID are leadership ones in Philadelphia and London after allegations of their Pride leadership having racism and transphobia. The rising inflation has made it so summer travel is more expensive than before. Things like hotels, plane rides, and other modes of transportation cost more than they did before COVID. One change that has been brought about because of COVID is the rise of virtual events. Groups like NYC Pride, Capital Pride and Pride Amsterdam will have online streaming available. The NYC Pride March and the LA Pride March will be available on Hulu. Another debate that has changed since COVID are questions about "pinkwashing" in which a company will recognize Pride for profit, while not donating to any LGBTQ organizations. Some of the corporations in the past that have used Pride merchandise to sell things during Pride month while contributing to anti-LGBTQ organizations have been heavily criticized recently. Overall, COVID has contributed to changes in how Pride is celebrated.

2022-05-29

Haley Thomas Biography Sheet

This biography was created out of a self-directed project from the HST580 class. This biography will be linked to the submissions of the person mentioned in the document and title.

2022-06-06

Marissa Rhodes Biography Sheet

This biography was created out of a self-directed project from the HST580 class. This biography will be linked to the submissions of the person mentioned in the document and title.

2022-06-06

Ashley Hampton Biography Sheet

This biography was created out of a self-directed project from the HST580 class. This biography will be linked to the submissions of the person mentioned in the document and title.

2022-05-30

New guidelines for face masks in Japan

Japan, as of May 30th, 2022, is relaxing the face mask guidelines. For the most part, masks do not need to be worn outdoors except when the elderly are in close quarters to other people. Indoors, masks are still required indoors except in the case of when someone is in little to no conversation, which the article shows in a chart. The chart's example states walking around museums and libraries where there is little to no conversation. One of the reasons for why Japan is relaxing face masks is because summer is approaching and the temperature will rise. There are fears about face masks causing heatstroke. In Japan, temperatures can range from 70-90 degrees F, but the summers are hot and humid too. So, it makes sense to relax the restrictions, especially in the outdoors.

2022-05-26

Erin Craft Biography Sheet

This biography was created out of a self-directed project from the HST580 class. This biography will be linked to the submissions of the person mentioned in the document and title.

2022-05-10

Jaime J. Godinez Oral History, 2022/05/10

Jaime Godinez is a high school U.S. history teacher in Yuma, Arizona, and an ASU graduate student being interviewed for a class assignment. Jaime gives some background on his life, including the fact that he was born in Arizona, but raised in Mexico. He discusses how his feelings have changed about COVID before the world was shut down and everyone was forced into remote work, but also more recently. Still, Jaime endured when he became unemployed and began to study at Arizona State University. However, Jaime was disappointed by the fact that he could not coach basketball. Finally, Jaime tells us how he and his family dealt with living together during the COVID-19 lockdown, including when he bought dumbbells online so he could work out at home. Jaime would have preferred to work out in a gym, much like many others, but this was a compromise that he had to make. Jaime reminds us that we must listen to medical professionals in the future and we must be socially responsible when interacting with the public.

2022-05-24

Angelica S. Ramos Biography Sheet

This biography was created out of a self-directed project from the HST580 class. This biography will be linked to the submissions of the person mentioned in the document and title.

2022-05-24

Bryan Paintiff Biography Sheet

This biography was created out of a self-directed project from the HST580 class. This biography will be linked to the submissions of the person mentioned in the document and title.

2022-05-28

Anasitasia Vaitele Biography Sheet

This biography was created out of a self-directed project from the HST580 class. This biography will be linked to the submissions of the person mentioned in the document and title.

2022-05-21

I wear a mask in public for three reasons

This is an Instagram post by spacegrd. This is an infographic on why someone would choose to wear a mask. The three reasons are: humility, kindness, and community.

2022-05-22

People in counties backed by Trump were twice as likely to die from COVID: Study

This is an Instagram post by coach.fun.2. The study is not linked in the description, but I did find the article the title is referencing. The story come from the Huffington Post. It says that political affiliation is linked to vaccination rates, which some claim are what is making the difference between living and dying from COVID. Wealth and access to certain care are also taken into account. The study was from Brown and the study claims that states that went heavily for Trump had more cases of COVID deaths.

2022-05-22

Proud to play our part

This is an Instagram post by reddingrancheria. This is an advertisement for wearing a mask to protect the elderly. Seeing as elderly are more at risk for dying of COVID, I can understand why elderly would wear masks more often themselves, in addition to their caretakers wearing masks frequently.

2022-05-22

Republican logic

This is an Instagram post from feministhood. It is making the comparison between the rhetoric Republicans have had regarding COVID versus abortion. The person writing this says thinks that it is rather contradictory. The contradiction comes from thinking that "my body, my choice" applies to masks and vaccines, but should not apply to abortion. The commonality is that both issues deal with bodily autonomy.

2022-05-28

My parents worry about the psychological implications of our masks

This is an Instagram post by tat2luvgirl37. This is a political comic referencing both school shootings and mask wearing. The comic artist is trying to create irony where the parents of one of the kids seems to worry more about mask wearing rather than gun protection. The mask versus no-mask camp is highly partisan, with the no-maskers typically being Republican in the United States, and the pro-maskers being Democrat. Additionally, the Republican party is overall viewed as being more-pro gun, which some critics say is the reason why mass shootings happen more often. As we can see by the #voteblue used by the person that reposted this comic, it is very politically charged and meant to be criticism against those that are pro-gun and anti-mask.

2022-04-29

This is our shot

This is an Instagram post by stutteringloudly. This person is celebrating his mom getting her fourth dose.

2022-05-03

Face masks are attractive

This is an Instagram post by everydayjustnottoday. The person that posted this equates masks with intelligence. Intelligence to this person is attractive. Masks have been a controversial topic due to the belief that they will inhibit communication or cause psychological issues. There are many different sides to this debate.

2021-08-10

Get vaccinated so I can communicate again.

Caption to post: As I’m sure you’ve seen and experienced, mask mandates are starting to come back. In stores, offices, and on my college campus as well. As a person with hearing loss, masks make it so difficult me for me to communicate. I rely so heavily on lipreading, seeing how the mouth moves when speaking, to understand what is said. Without lipreading, my speech recognition is around 16%. This means with masks, I can only absorb 16% of all interactions - that is incredibly isolating. When I go back to the classroom in September, it’s going to be so difficult to navigate the classroom setting when I can’t understand anyone. My teachers will have clear masks provided, but what about during group work or when students ask questions that I might also have? I’m going to completely miss out on the college experience I’ve been longing for for a year and a half because people won’t get vaccinated. I’m tired of disclosing my hearing loss to check out at a store. I’m tired of constantly fighting for closed captioning for online lectures. I’m tired of living in a pandemic where we have a solution to end it. Vaccines work. Vaccines save lives. Getting the vaccine means you’re helping deaf and hard of hearing people get back to a place where they can communicate again. SAVE this post and SHARE to spread awareness. This topic is NOT talked about enough and it’s something that affects the deaf and hard of hearing community every single day. ID IN COMMENTS

2022-05-28

Shanghai edges towards COVID reopening as Beijing plans to ease curbs

This is a news story from Reuters. After intense lockdowns, Shanghai is looking to reopen again. Shanghai officials urged continued vigilance, even though the vast majority of its 25 million residents live in areas that are in the lowest-risk "prevention" category. "Wear masks in public, no gathering and keep social distance," Zhao Dandan, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, told a daily news conference. Similar measures are being taken in Beijing, where things are reopening there too, but with restriction. Starting on Sunday, shopping malls, libraries, museums, theatres and gyms will be allowed to reopen, with limits on numbers of people, in the eight of Beijing's 16 districts that have seen no community cases for seven consecutive days.

2022-05-26

From COVID-19 to shootings: Is mass death now tolerated in America?

This is a news story from The Associated Press. Just recently, there have been over one million COVID deaths recorded in the United States. The author of this piece asks if Americans have just begun to tolerate mass death. Racial and social inequalities are also cited, where the author claims that those of certain backgrounds are more likely to die sooner or more violently. The COVID deaths are then related to the recent shooting deaths, such as in Buffalo and in Texas. While the gun violence deaths are lower than the COVID deaths, the author uses this to show that little is being done for either to help lessen the amount of deaths. I don't agree with the author completely on this due to dying from COVID being very different from dying from a mass shooter. With COVID, people could pass it along unknowingly and get someone infected, as it is an asymptomatic spread. With a mass shooter, it is much less predictable and far more sudden. From what I have seen on my social media, I did not see anyone I follow really mark the 1,000,000 COVID death milestone, but many have expressed outrage over both the Buffalo and Texas shootings. I don't think the question should be whether Americans accept mass death or not, but of methods of prevention. Obviously, gun ownership won't solve all problems. The police that had guns were waiting outside the school as the shooter was slaughtering kids and adults. Though, one man with a gun, a border patrol agent, is who finally shot the mass shooter and killed him. This is more of a question of character, as well as how competent police forces are in these scenarios. I do not think the author made a fair comparison because protecting yourself from COVID to prevent death would be an entirely different process than protecting yourself from a mass shooter. While the goal of preserving life is the same, the methods differ. Outrage isn't an issue because I have seen people upset over death from COVID and mass shootings. The main problem I see is that people have trouble coming together on a solution.

2022-05-26

Tucker Carlson tries to link Uvalde massacre to COVID "lockdowns" while rejecting gun restrictions

This is a news story from Salon by Meaghan Ellis. This is an opinion piece on what this author thinks about Fox News contributor Tucker Carlson and his approach to the shooting in Texas. The news story says that Carlson claims the lockdowns increased mental illness cases. Whether this is true remains to be seen, but from my own experience with lockdowns, I did have trouble adjusting. I had at least a few mental breakdowns over feeling like a prisoner in my own home. I don't think the lockdowns would trigger everyone into becoming a potential mass shooter, but I do not think they were healthy for many people either. People need human contact regularly, and being cut off from that and only having social media or very few people to see in-person would feel isolating. I think mental health is not paid attention to enough by public health officials when it comes to lockdowns. Mental health is still part of overall health. I do understand why the lockdowns happened, but I think many went on too long, which has had a bad effect on society. It is obviously not the only reason someone would have a mental illness, but for people that already did have mental issues, it made them worse. I have high functioning autism and without a good support system, I'd possibly be doing way worse.

2022-05-28

Testing Positive and Using the ‘Backdoor’ to Get Into the U.S.

This is a news story from the New York Times by Ceylan Yeginsu. This is about how people have been finding ways to bypass restrictions while traveling. Land crossings are a way some people are doing this, since land crossing does not require testing for entry into some countries. One way this could be done is doing the mandatory self-isolation period of five days, than choosing a different flight to a country like Mexico first, to then cross into the United States by land to avoid the ten day isolation required for testing positive for COVID. This article is quite interesting because it shows the ways in which COVID restrictions can be bypassed through loopholes within the framework. I have no idea the amount of people that actually do this, but at least a few have noticed ways to get out of restrictions.

2022-05-23

Ashlee Harper Biography Sheet

This biography was created out of a self-directed project from the HST580 class. This biography will be linked to the submissions of the person mentioned in the document and title.

2022-05-23

Jason Inskeep Biography Sheet

This biography was created out of a self-directed project from the HST580 class. This biography will be linked to the submissions of the person mentioned in the document and title.

2022-05-23

COVID-19 Staff Shortage at Gen Korean Barbecue

Due to COVID-19, Gen, a Korean barbecue place, has had a staff shortage. Today I went there for lunch and noticed that there was fewer people working many tables than in times I have gone in the past. This speaks to the bigger labor issues that have come about since COVID. Some of it may be realizing that jobs like this aren't offering nearly enough to work there. Another possibility is that staff shortages might be happening from vaccine mandates, which depending on how many vaccines some place require, would be less appealing. The sign says that it is only due to COVID-19, but there are many components to that, so narrowing down the reason there are staff shortages could be difficult unless I asked the manager.

2022-05-23

Face Mask Suggestion Sign at It's Sugar

This is a sign on the front door of It's Sugar. It's Sugar is a chain candy store. Here, it is saying that those who have not been vaccinated should continue to wear a mask while inside the store. I went in there today, and no employee asked about my vaccination status, and the employees weren't masked. Arizona as a whole has been pretty light on COVID restrictions, but I imagine that other locations of this store might react differently.

2022-05-23

Cart Wipes at Target

This is where you can get cart wipes at Target while shopping. In addition to the thing itself, it gives you information on where to get a COVID vaccine. Wiping down surfaces has become a bigger thing since COVID, as it would help reduce the spread. COVID itself can't survive on surfaces for very long, but it can be there for a short amount of time. Using things like cart wipes is a way to prevent COVID and other diseases.

2022-05-23

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