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Vaccine
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2021-07-14
Pop star Olivia Rodrigo visits White House to urge young people to get vaccinated against Covid-19
"I am beyond honored and humbled to be here today to help spread the message about the importance of youth vaccination," Rodrigo said from the White House press briefing room podium. Youth vaccination rates continue to lag significantly behind the general American population. Rodrigo continued: "I'm in awe of the work President Biden and Dr. Fauci have done and was happy to help lend my support to this important initiative. It's important to have conversations with friends and family members encouraging all communities to get vaccinated, and actually get to a vaccination site, which you can do more easily than ever before, given how many sites we have and how easy it is to find them at vaccines.gov." The videos will be featured on the 18-year-old's social media channels as well as the White House's accounts. Rodrigo is the singer of hits "Drivers License," and "good 4 u," and has more than 28 million followers across her channels. -
2021-07-14
Olivia Rodrigo arrives at the White House
Olivia Rodrigo arrives at the White House to record videos promoting covid-19 vaccines. She'll meet with President Biden and Dr. Anthony S. Fauci. This Facebook comment feed shows a mixed reaction to President Biden's latest effort to get young people vaccinated. -
2021-07-13
New daily COVID-19 cases in US have doubled in past 3 weeks
The COVID-19 curve in the U.S. is rising again after months of decline, with the number of new cases per day doubling over the past three weeks, driven by the fast-spreading delta variant, lagging vaccination rates and Fourth of July gatherings. Confirmed infections climbed to an average of about 23,600 a day on Monday, up from 11,300 on June 23, according to Johns Hopkins University data. And all but two states — Maine and South Dakota — reported that case numbers have gone up over the past two weeks. -
2021-07-14
Summer setback: COVID deaths and cases rising again globally
As life goes back to normal (whatever that means) here in the United States I fear that we are all turning a blind eye to the truth, COVID is not gone. Hand sanitizing stations are no longer being refilled in most places and we can go grocery shopping without masks, restaurants are busy and people are getting back to work. This would all be good news if globally our numbers continued to decline. The truth is that growing variants, like the Delta variant, are causing numbers to rapidly rise. Here in the US we have become so comfortable with life back to "normal" that we have become complacent. We are not yet safe, people are still dying. -
2021-06-24
Philippines president threatens to arrest refusers of COVID-19 vaccine
MANILA, Philippines - Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday threatened to imprison citizens who refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine as the nation continues to be a hotspot for the novel coronavirus in Asia. The country has recorded more than 1.3 million COVID-19 cases and over 23,000 deaths. -
07/08/2021
Collett Hall Oral History, 2021/07/08
Collett Hall talks about her fears about her daughter getting the virus, her system for obtaining groceries, and her experiences working as a special education teacher. -
2021-03-18
Oakland clinic offers Mayan interpreter for COVID-19 vaccinations
Oakland clinic offers Mayan interpreter for COVID-19 vaccinations La Clinica de La Raza is targeting Latin Mam or Mayan-speaking community with translation service Thursdays OAKLAND — A new COVID-19 vaccination clinic in the Fruitvale neighborhood is offering interpreter services for the Latin Mam or Mayan-speaking community. This month, La Clinica de La Raza began offering the community-targeted vaccination service at 32 locations across the Bay Area, including ASCEND Elementary School on East 12th Street, where Latinos who speak Mam, K’iche ‘and Q’eqchi’ can get translation help from appointment to inoculation on Thursdays. There are over 22 different Mam dialects spoken primarily by people of Guatemalan and Mexican descent. According to a recent UC San Francisco study, Mayan people with Guatemalan roots are the fastest-growing ethnic group in Oakland. “I’m here to support my community, getting them the service that they deserve,” Brenda Sucely Perez, the on-site interpreter at ASCEND, said last week while about 450 eligible people were vaccinated. Staff at the Fruitvale site have administered roughly 2,000 Moderna vaccines per week since opening on March 4, according to La Clinica officials. Salvador Garcia, an Oakland firefighter, volunteered at the vaccination clinic. “Coming to get the vaccination is a good thing because it would help prevent the spread,” Garcia said, adding that it’s especially important given how close relatives in the Latino community live. “When you’re around people in such tight quarters around here, the way the families live with each other, it’s just good to have the preventative measure of the vaccination.” It’s also one of the reasons the nation’s first and strictest stay-at-home orders proved ill-suited for the hard-hit Latino community, a four-month Bay Area News Group investigation found. That analysis showed case rates for the region’s Latino residents are nearly four times higher than White residents, while the Latino population has fared worse against the virus across California. During the fall case surge, economic pressure to keep working outside the home became another major factor in the Latino community’s higher COVID-19 positivity rate in the Fruitvale neighborhood than the rest of the state, according to a UCSF study conducted in September. The results of that study found that antibody-positive prevalence was 9.8% overall among people who live and work in Fruitvale, a predominantly Latino neighborhood. The number spiked to 26.8% among the Latin Mam, or Mayan, speaking community, USCF [sic] researchers noted. The COVID-antibody test shows that someone once had coronavirus. -
2021-06-28
My Pandemic Experience
When the pandemic was coming, I was initially relieved. I was supposed to fly to Chicago to visit my sister and go to our favorite band’s (Keane) concert, but as a person with anxiety and panic disorder who is terrified of airplanes and crowds it allowed me to back out. The concert was cancelled. It was the excuse I needed to back out without shame or blame. It seems silly now, but at the time covid seemed more like a bad cold or flu to me. It seemed like another Swine Flu or Avian Flu or other scare in recent memory which hadn’t amounted to a plague style pandemic. Lockdown was even kind of nice at first. My husband, daughter, and I got to spend a lot of family time together. I had taught ESL online for a number of years previously, so converting my in school classes to online was easy. I had no problems teaching over Zoom. I’m a homebody anyway, by habit and by anxiety, so this was great… until the body count started. I was horrified and sickened to hear about the freezer containers being used in New York City to store the overflow of bodies. The germaphobia that had plagued me in childhood, that I had gone to years of therapy to overcome, came roaring back with a vengeance. Like everyone else, I went to the grocery store to stock up so I wouldn’t have to leave me house for awhile, only to find shelf after shelf empty. As a super health conscious, organic, vegan my choices were extremely limited. My husband and daughter aren’t vegan, but they do eat only organic, which became impossible. Soap, disinfectant, cleaners, and hand sanitizers were nowhere to be found. At a time when it was so important to be as clean and healthy as possible all those modern conveniences were utterly gone. I felt helpless. I imagined that people living during pandemics like the bubonic plague and Spanish flu must have felt similarly. After a couple of weeks, quarantine started to feel more like a claustrophobic prison sentence than a family vacation. I missed my sister, my parents, my friends, my colleagues, and my students. On my birthday and Easter I just had to wave at my parents through the glass door. My favorite hobby- taekwondo, which I had started in order to relieve stress and help with my anxiety was taken from me. I had to do the classes online from my living room, which was nearly impossible. I felt trapped. A raging epidemic across the planet from which there was no escape. If I spent too much time thinking about it, I would start to feel the claw of panic. By the time summer arrived I was at breaking point. Luckily with summer we had some reprieve. Case loads declined, and I started meeting my best friend outside. We socially distanced ourselves and wore masks, but we were together and that was a start. By the end of summer she and her boyfriend were on our “quaranteam” that is we decided we could see each other since we weren’t seeing anyone else. In the fall school started. Since I teach at a Catholic school we were able to have school in person full time, though we had students in every grade who opted to go remote. But my bestie and I were back in the building with most of the kids, and I started to feel less trapped. I was going to stores masked and my daughter was also in school. But as soon as Thanksgiving hit everything changed again. So many people ignored all of the recommendations and restrictions and got together with family and friends. It made me so angry that people were so careless. A friend of mine had a large family in Pennsylvania who all got together for Thanksgiving. She didn’t go because she thought it was reckless. 8 out of 14 people at the family dinner got covid and 2 of them died. Then at Christmas, my great uncle passed. No funeral. No wake. Nothing. Schools shut down again. We were trapped. Then the vaccines came. It was nearly impossible to get one for a long time even if you were eligible. Slots filled as fast as they were posted. You needed to present a lot of proof of eligibility in order to get one. As a teacher, I was able to get mine earlier than many others. I got the Moderna. The first shot made me feel a little sick for a few hours, but with the second I had a fever of 103.5, aches, chills, nausea for 12 hours and a general malaise for 3 days. A friend of mine in taekwondo, who has some autoimmune problems, had a severe reaction after her first Moderna vaccine. She has had side effects for a few months now that are not going away. She has dizzy spells and heart palpitations regularly. She is undergoing testing and being monitored by the CDC. Despite some horror stories, the vaccine is still the absolute best thing that we could have hoped for. I would like my daughter to get it as soon as they open it to the under 12 population. A lot of people won’t get the vaccine because they are in the “Science is fake, I’m a Trump supporter” camp. In my opinion, Trump’s misinformation and mishandling of the pandemic cost tens of thousands of American lives, and his diversive legacy is going to cost us dearly for many years to come. It is now June again. School just finished. New York State is allowing people to enter buildings unmasked if they are vaccinated, but few people are actually requiring any proof. Given that the people with a cavalier attitude toward wearing masks are many of the same people who are against getting vaccinated, an honors system policy towards wearing masks is really just a no-mask policy. It is very frustrating to me that people can’t just deal with masks for a while longer to fully insure this disease’s eradication before we have another relapse and find ourselves back in quarantine again. -
2021-06-24
COVID scam awareness sign
When I visited the library today, I noticed in the large assortment of flyers on the community posting board a flyer warning about COVID-19 scams. The flyer is from the California Senior Medicare Patrol, and mentions a variety of different scams related to vaccine distribution that people should avoid. It also provides a hotline phone number. The photo was taken on June 24, 2021. -
2021-06-23
The shot
Crowded room, felt a Prick. Yay I’m vaccinated. Now I’m in pain…. Great :/ -someone during the vaccine day -
2021-06-16
Get vaccinated at SFO airport
The SFO airport is now offering 1-shot vaccines at a medical clinic. I never would have imagined in 2019 that you could get vaccinated in an airport, but clearly the priority is on increasing the number of vaccinated people in the U.S. It sounds convenient, as no appointment is needed. -
2021-04-28
Vaccine On Campus
As a year has passed from the beginning of the pandemic, Flagler College has partnered with Flagler Health to offer the Pfizer vaccine for students over eighteen. Staff and faculty were also offered the vaccine in a separate event. -
2021-06-03
My Covid Vaccine Experience
These are the two Facebook posts I made the day I got my first shot and my second. I received the Moderna vaccine. As a teacher, I was able to get mine sooner than many others. Many people I know had (and still have) reservations about getting the vaccine. I believe in science. I believe in vaccines. It is disheartening and dangerous to see so many Americans throwing away an opportunity to protect themselves, their families, and their community because of politics. Science should not be political. The vaccine did make me feel ill, especially the second one, but it was temporary. I would do it a hundred more times if I had to. A friend of the family said they would not get the vaccine because, "What's in it for me? Even if I get Covid, I am young and healthy, unlikely to die." I found that statement alarmingly self-centered. Getting the vaccine isn't about you as individual as much as it is about you protecting your community and the world. As the saying goes nowadays, "Until all of us are safe, none of us is safe." -
2021-04-07
covid questions
Have u been sick? Noooo!! Do u remember the ticks? Noooo!! What kinda question is this? Screening sir…. Can u recognize the meaning? Screaming: Noooo!! War time in the field, the ears? Yes. Palpitations, shortness of breath? Yes. Secret agent spray Vaguely the mist, but yes ma'am Are you okay? Noooo!! I'm here for my vaccination. -
2021-05-09
Fred O'Gorman Oral History, 2021/05/09
Interview conducted by a nephew with uncle regarding the COVID response as it occured in the Republic of Ireland. Interviewee Fred O'Gorman discussed topics ranging from business closure and government response to personal and communal attitudes and behaviors in relation to pandemic in Ireland. The discussion also discussed ongoing vaccine rollout in Ireland and the dynamics of mental health through the course of the pandemic. -
2021-04-17
13-year-old in Pfizer Covid vaccine trial who wants to be an epidemiologist: ‘I like to learn everything I can’
Recently CNBC has released an article on my story in the Pfizer Vaccine Trial. I got interviewed about a week ago, and I helped in the making of the article. It is on a division of CNBC called CNBC Make It. CNBC Make It is a section of CNBC that specializes in money, wellness, and heartwarming stories. I have gotten to know the writer, Cory Stieg, well and it was great working with her. The article goes into detail about how the trial works and my experience with the trial. This experience has been amazing from both ends, Pfizer and CNBC. I hope that I inspired others to make a change in the world and to try and pursue your passions. Link to article in description -
2021-05-15
Getting My Vaccine!
I got my Pfizer vaccine! It's actually surreal to me to think that I got a vaccine because I was quite pessimistic about Covid in 2020. I think there was a voice in my head telling me that we're going to be in “this” for so long, and that it's going to be so bad but when I wrote my second Coronavirus journal entry, I said “I think we might get a vaccine by 2021 but I don't think it will be distributed to the public quickly until mid 2021” and I hit it right on the nail with that. I guess my prediction was pretty lucky. The progress that the United States has made with vaccines has been outstanding to be honest. I think it might be regarded as one of the most successful events in modern US history. A couple months back it was crazy for me to see that juniors in my French class we're being taken out to get the vaccine. At the time I was hearing about how Canada was lagging behind in vaccines. Even more crazy to me is that this Friday, my school opened up the gym for students 12-15 years old to get vaccinated so students in my grade got vaccinated at PE. Interestingly enough a classmate of mine was in the trial for under 15 year old kids. I'm sure that he documented his experience, but my experience with him being in the trial was that we teased him in Science class after he got his first dose. We said “oh you got the microchip” and “I bet your cellular connectivity got better”. He of course laughed it off. A lot of my humor is sarcasm, irony, and pretending to be dumb so when I said “oh you got the microchip” and “I bet your cellular connectivity got better”, it was meant (and taken) as a joke. But of course in humor, lies some truth. There are people that believe those things. There are people that are believing this misinformation from the internet. There are “Karen's” on the internet saying stupid things. There have been campaigns to fight misinformation about the vaccine and I think they've been successful, but there will always be dumb people. I think there are some famous people that are not using their influence for good, which is terrible as I think they have an obligation to support the vaccine. Someone I think that embodies this is LeBron James. I don't think he's gotten enough blow back for his comments. He is one of the most influential people in the world and his comments are damaging. His comments could indirectly be killing people. There is also some irony in his actions and his comments. It's well-known that he spends over 1.5 million dollars a year to keep his body in Tip-Top shape but he won't take a free vaccine. Anyways my experience getting the vaccine was pretty standard. I went into the hospital at 10:30, got my vaccine card (and an extra to archive), got pricked (it didn’t even hurt), waited 15 minutes and went home. Now 2 hours after I'm writing this, I haven't had any side effects other than some pain in the arm that I got it in. My dad got some bad side effects after his first dose, but not after his second, which seems to be odd because most people get worse side effects after the second dose. I’ll have to see if I get bad side effects from the first or second dose. Also if you’re reading this 50 years from now, check out if they have my vaccine card. -
2021-04-27
Should the US Share Covid 19 Vaccines and Supplies? + American Patriotism
Should the US Share Covid 19 Vaccines and Supplies? + American Patriotism I think countries should try to share supplies when they're able to. It's for the greater good but I also understand that countries just don't and won't adopt this policy. Every country in the world is a "_____ country first” country. I think it's unrealistic to assume that countries will donate covid-19 supplies while they are still dealing with it. I think the only countries that might do this are the Nordic countries that everyone points at and goes that is the favorite Child of the entire world. I think in the future it will be interesting to see what country is the favorite child as I put it. I also think that there's an interesting argument that goes along the lines of this, the United States is the controlling superpower and if they themselves are not able to be stable they aren't able to help the world to be stable. Yes, I understand this logic that I proposed is a little bit prideful coming from an American, because I think Americans have a tendency to use “the USA number one” mode of thinking and they also think that without the United States, the world would crumple. People who use this logic also mention the Marshall Plan and some of the other work that was done in the Asia post World War II. But I think nowadays, consensus with Americans is “what has the US done recently”. I agree with the “what has the US done lately” logic and I think it exists as a purposeful counter to the flag waving and patriotism that we see in so many Americans today. I think because of this we have created the “Ashamed American”. I would describe the ashamed American as being disgusted by those flag wavers. I describe them as disgusted with the right and disgusted with Donald Trump. I think these ashamed Americans look at the flag waving and they say “why?”. They say “why are we waving this flag for this country that has so many problems, that has done so much bad.” They don't believe that there was ever a Great America. They believe it's always been a flawed America and they look at these socialist countries that seem to be so happy yet they think why does America have so many problems while they are so happy. I think this is sort of interesting to document for the future because I'm not sure if it's always been this way. I think this might have arised with 2020 politics though I think I can't even say that. You must also understand that the reaction to the European trying to “diss” the US is often “Shut up you bidet-loving European. USA is number one! Number one, number one. Did y'all invent the hamburger? Did y’all invent French fries? I don't think so go back to your country with stupid free healthcare and play some stupid soccer.” and as the Europeans walks away, a group forms that begins to sing the national anthem. Even those “ashamed Americans” won’t let those darn Europeans speak badly on the US of A. -
2021-04-17
13-year-old in Pfizer Covid vaccine trial who wants to be an epidemiologist: ‘I like to learn everything I can
Recently CNBC has released an article on my story in the Pfizer Vaccine Trial. I got interviewed about a week ago, and I helped in the making of the article. It is on a division of CNBC called CNBC Make It. CNBC Make It is a section of CNBC that specializes in money, wellness, and heartwarming stories. I have gotten to know the writer, Cory Stieg, well and it was great working with her. The article goes into detail about how the trial works and my experience with the trial. This experience has been amazing from both ends, Pfizer and CNBC. I hope that I inspired others to make a change in the world and to try and pursue your passions. Link to Article in Description -
2021-04-26
India Struggles
I discussed the Covid-19 crisis in India. As the United States improves and cases go down, India needs a lot of assistance. -
2021-03-12
Life in a Needle
Throughout medical history vaccinations have been imperative in order to fight diseases and viruses. As a child these vaccinations start at two months and tend to continue through our lives. Most vaccines are mandatory but there are some that are voluntary which leaves us contemplating our decision. The contemplation on getting a vaccine is why I chose a picture of my COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card to be submitted as my primary source. When COVID first hit the United States, we weren’t really prepared for the devastation that it brought right along with it. When I first heard about COVID it still hadn’t reached the United States and that was around January but then around March New York started going into lockdown. The lockdown period was pretty difficult to deal with as the way of life completely changed. Mentally, emotionally and physically it took a toll on me. As a person that was barely at home because of school and work the lock down caused great anxiety. From the moment the world heard about the first case it went into creating a vaccine that could prevent the number of cases of deaths and hospitalizations from increasing. As pharmaceutical companies started the research to create a vaccine, I was pretty skeptical about it. I was refusing to get the vaccine if they succeeded in creating it because there was just so much doubt going through my head. I was unsure what the vaccine contained and if it would work in the prevention of catching COVID. But long behold a vaccine was created but of course there were so many side effects that came with the shot. With everything that was going wrong with the vaccine during the experimentation period it just strengthened my decision to decline the shot. My views started to change once I started to hear that many people weren’t getting any symptoms from the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. These vaccines required the person to receive two doses in order to be “immune” to COVID. Another reason that caused me to change my views on receiving the shot was the fact that I wanted to travel, and the government was requiring a vaccination passport in order to do so. The first dose of vaccines was only available to the elderly and to the healthcare workers who were risking their lives coming into contact with COVID patients. Then they started extending the qualifications needed for someone to receive the shot which included: preexisting conditions, obesity, high risk conditions, and many other qualifications. These are just of the few qualifications that was asked for in order for someone to be eligible to receive a vaccination. Because I have a preexisting condition, I was eligible to receive the COVID 19 vaccine. It was pretty difficult trying to get an appointment due to the high volume of people who wanted to receive the shot. After multiple attempts in trying to secure my appointment, I succeed with Walmart. I received my first Moderna vaccination on March 12, 2021 and my second vaccination on April 23, 2021. I was content on receiving the Moderna vaccine because it wasn’t recalled for causing health problems like the rest of the vaccinations from other pharmaceutical companies were causing. After a few hours of receiving my first shot I started to feel dizzy and very lightheaded to the point that I couldn’t drive at work. With the second shot my symptoms were: dizziness, fever, body aches, chills, change of smell and taste and nausea. The second shot was stronger than the first one but I’m glad that those were the only symptoms I experienced. But the one thing that both shots had in common after receiving them was the soreness of the arm for multiple days. Now that is has been almost a month that I received my second shot almost all the symptoms have vanished except for my change of smell and taste. Because the shot as altered my sense of smell and taste it has made it unbearable for me to smell or eat meat but I’m hoping that it will subside soon. The decision on receiving the COVID 19 vaccine is a daunting one to make as there can be many factors that can influence you. I received the vaccine as a precaution to myself and others. I also took it in order to travel and not worry about being prevented from boarding a flight because I can’t provide proof of the vaccination record card. I think this new vaccine is going to be a lot like the Flu shot as it comes in seasons and its up to the person to decide whether or not they’re going to get it. I’m just happy that the government hasn’t made it mandatory because there is still a lot of people who are pretty skeptical about it. The decision of our life is in a needle. -
2021-04
Decide to get my covid vaccine
Getting my Covid vaccine. -
2021-05-03
Vaccines for the world
This was written as an assignment for Paula Flynn's fifth grade class at Franklin Elementary School in Santa Monica, CA. I dream for Covid to end and for everyone to be given the vaccine. The world has taken a heavy hit from covid and I know that we can come back from it. Covid has affected many people from around the world. I hope that we are able to all stay safe during this pandemic. -
2021-04-14
Reconsidering Taking the Vaccine
I live in Bronx, New York. When the pandemic struck, it affected everyone tremendously whether you contracted the virus or not. New York is a densely populated place and it immediately required a shut down of all day to day activities due to the soaring virus. It was so impactful that my school had to be closed and I could not go out with my friends on the weekends anymore due to the fact that all business places were closed. Many people in New York contracted the virus which at one point had the highest Coronavirus cases. It made my family and I very depressed to be stuck at home all day and worrying if anyone of us would be the next person to be personally affected by the virus. During the pandemic, which is still current, the introduction of the vaccine made me feel very relieved. Even though it is not a cure for the virus but it would help to fight the virus if you do contract it, and it also lessens the likeliness that it is contracted. This was such good news to my ears. When I found out that there were different types of the vaccines I was very skeptical about it because I wondered to myself about the different component that each might have. Following this, there was word that the Johnson and Johnson vaccine was causing bloodclots. This made me extremely scared to take any of the vaccines overall even though I want to be secured from the virus but I worry that the vaccine would not agree well with my body. This was a mental battle within my family if we want to take the vaccine or not. -
2021-04-28
Can employers legally require COVID-19 vaccinations?
As the COVID-19 vaccine becomes available to everyone, there are questions about whether or not an employer can require employees to get the vaccine. While making the vaccine required is well within the rights of an employer, it is unlikely this will happen. However, there are many places that are strongly recommending that employees get the vaccine. -
2021-04-28
COVID-19 Has Hit The Amish Community Hard. Still, Vaccines Are A Hard Sell
Officials are having a hard time convincing Amish populations to get the COVID-19 vaccine. This has been attributed to cultural differences and it's believed they'll start getting the vaccine once it's been around for some time. In the meantime, there are fears that the communities will have more COVID-19 outbreaks. -
2021-04-25
Ready for the one shot and done
Now that the CDC has cleared the J & J one shot and done again after the scare of blood clots people are ready to get their shots. Will people line up to get the J&J shot? I hope they will as there are lots of them in stock here. -
2021-04-10
Sikh temple is offering 1,500 COVID-19 shots
For most religions, helping in the community is a necessity. For Sikhs, it is no different. This article details how a Sikh temple has allowed its building to be used for the distribution of 1500 COVID-19 vaccines. Throughout the history of Sikhism, a premium has been placed on service and charity. By providing its building for easy access to vaccines, this Sikh temple is playing its role to help get back to normalcy. -
2021-04-15
The Klamath Tribes halt use of Johnson and Johnson vaccine
The Klamath Tribes stopped administering the J&J vaccine on April 9, 2021 after concerns of major side effects, a few days before the FDA and CDC paused administering of the vaccine. -
2021-04-21
Coquille Indian Tribe pauses distribution/use of Johnson and Johnson vaccine
"The Coquille Indian Tribe has suspended use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine. This action is taken in response to a federal recommendation involving six reported U.S. cases of a “rare and severe” type of blood clot." -
2021-04-22
CA Colleges to Require Vaccine
Numerous times in the past couple of months, we’ve been wondering if CA colleges would require the vaccine. Today it’s official - the answer is yes. To be transparent, this Californian who has friends and family employed by the UC system is extremely happy. I realize there is vaccine hesitation but I am relieved for the safety of students and staff that the universities are taking this step. And it’s not just the UC system, the Cal State system and Stanford are also instituting the same requirement (actually Stanford announced first). The UC system is often a trend setter - if it does something, other universities follow. I’m hoping this will begin a trend, not only in higher education but at the K-12 level. I know, super controversial, but schools already require other immunizations, why not this one? Public health, people! -
2021-03-09
Volunteer Vaccine
My name is Erica Ruhland and I was a senior online during the Covid-19 Pandemic. I live with my two grandparents. Both are in their late 70’s, and because of them, I have been taking the pandemic extremely seriously. This year has been a constant battle of inner turmoil. My moral compass has been spinning for over a year now. The following has been some of the struggles and sacrifices I have made over the course of the year: Quarantining from my grandparents for 12 days in my room, multiple times Cutting my work hours to limit possible exposure Quarantining from my boyfriend for 4 months. I had several close calls where I had worked with someone who then tested positive for Covid-19. Each time it would send me into an emotional spiral of guilt. Guilt for working in a customer service job. But it was this job that was paying for my school and gave me health insurance. I couldn’t be without health insurance during a pandemic. But I felt a great deal of shame and guilt over my minimum wage job. I had already cut my hours down, but I was stuck between making a living and staying alive. The constant battles with customers, begging with them to put on a mask, or just simply having to nod when they denied Covid’s existence began to take its toll on my soul. This pandemic has turned me bitter. I have seen too many cruel humans refuse to help their fellow neighbors. A simple mask has the potential to destroy or save my grandpa’s life. HandsOn Greater Phoenix is a volunteer program that helps find volunteers for several campaigns across the state. They were in charge of organizing the volunteer program for the “Vaccinate State 48” initiative. This is how I got the vaccine. The rule was, you had to volunteer at the State Farm Arena vaccination site for 8 hours and then you could receive the vaccine shot afterwards. After battling out for a volunteer spot online, I had secured a spot for me to help out on March 9th, 2021. From 6am to 2pm, I stood outside and directed traffic. I was one of the last volunteers people would see. After they received their shot, I would direct their cars out of the massive parking lot. I saw so many older citizens that day. Each time I couldn’t help but think of my own grandparents. As I waited in line, sitting in my car after volunteering, I felt a huge wave of emotion. It was a mixture of exhaustion, relief, fear, and joy. I started talking to the nurse and I told her that I was nervous for the shot but also really happy. This is when I began to tear up and cry. After the shot, I felt a huge weight lifted from me. All the sacrifices I had made to keep myself and my family safe, they were worth it. I had done my part to help not just myself or my loved ones, but my community, strangers that I may never meet again. My moral compass aligned North once more. I felt validated. I used the small power I have to effect a big change in my community. My bitterness began to fade. Even now, a month later, I still think about the other volunteers, they all believed we were helping effect great change and saving people. It was like a religion. I had been baptized with the vaccine. On that day I felt like I belonged to a church, preaching to the community. Our sermons were us showing the elders where to drive, and how to schedule their next dose. Our gospel was Phfizer and we sent missionaries out to spread the good news. My sign of piety was the sunburn on my neck where I had forgotten sunscreen and my vaccine papers. This sense of purpose and passion is I’m sure the driving force behind every religion. This pandemic has shown me the worst of people. I will not forget it. This pandemic has shown me the great lengths I and others will go to, to protect their community. I will never forget that. There is strength in a common goal. Vaccinate Sate 48. -
2021-04-19
She’s Back and I’m Terrified
After 400 days to the day, my daughter walked back into her gym. A competitive gymnast who has been training with the same gym since the week before she turned 3, this has been a long year. We are privileged in the sense that the hardest decision we had to make during the pandemic was not related to jobs security, hunger, or even health (beyond keeping ourselves from COVID). Our hardest choice was not allowing our daughter to return to her gym to train when they reopened in June. My husband and I knew COVID was just beginning. We knew the spike would come and the health of our family wasn’t something we were willing to risk, especially because our jobs allowed us the luxury to work from home and distance. At first, we made case rates dropping our marker of when she’d go back. Then, with the announcement of the vaccine, we decided to wait until our household was vaccinated. By the end of March, the adults of our household were vaccinated and our local case count had dropped considerably, to an infection rate percentage of 1.4%. Still, we wondered “should we just wait until she’s vaccinated?” But she’s 10, there is no vaccine being publicized for her age. How long can we keep her from her life? It’s not just the training. It’s about mental health. We’ve kept her physically safe, but she’s 10 years old and hasn’t seen a single friend in person for almost 14 months. She hasn’t shown any signs of a mental health crisis, but even if she isn’t showing anything, this has to have taken a toll on her. It was a difficult and scary choice, but my husband and I decided her mental health and emotional health are worth the risk. She is so happy. She’s had two one on one sessions with her coach and we are all shocked (and relieved) that her daily solo workouts EVERY SINGLE DAY for 400+ days now paid off. She not only kept all her skills but learned enough her skills to advance to the next level. I know her coach is shocked. I don’t think she really believed that a kid would work hard enough on her own to keep in shape. I know my daughter is very proud and very relieved to know she can compete again. And the timing is perfect - the new season starts in May, so she’ll begin in a new level with other girls she knows who also leveled up. She never acted unhappy during quarantine, but since going back, she’s seemed lighter and happier. Still, the two times she went were one on one. The beginning of May will see her going back full time, three practices a week for ten hours a week of practice. I’m happy they’re letting her keep her mask on and that the coaches are wearing masks but I’m still nervous. It’s so hard to send your kid into a situation that may lead them to contract a deadly illness. But it’s also so hard to keep your kid in a bubble. I never in a million years imagined I’d have kept my child home for 400 days. I’m a public school teacher, I’m the first person to tell you the importance of socialization. But in a pandemic, I guess my mothering deep instinct to my child overpowered anything else. I hope and pray with everything in me that we don’t regret allowing her to go back. I hope we are turning a corner in CA and that a vaccine for kids arrives soon so I can feel slightly more relaxed. -
2021-04-21
Enjoying the Chaos Wastes while I wait for my second Covid shot
On the twenty first of April, a new free DLC for the video game Vermintide 2 released called Chaos Wastes. Like a previous video game I posted about in these archive which has occupied my time during the pandemic, Vermintide is set in the Warhammer Fantasy Universe. WHF is essentially Tolkien high fantasy turned up to eleven, more over the top in every way. Vermintide takes place during the End Times, a narrative event from the tabletop game from around 2014. The venerable franchise with 30+ years of writing and stories by that point was destroyed in real life by its replacement Warhammer Age of Sigmar, and in the story the world was finally consumed by the powers of Chaos. In Vermintide, teams of four players team up to fight the horrors that assail the Empire of Mankind right at the beginning of the End Times. This new DLC, focusing on an expedition straight into the heart of the Chaos Wastes, takes the game in a new narrative direction and ties it in more broadly with the End Times narrative itself. The Ubersreik 5, as the protagonist group is referred to after their exploits from the first game, is primarily opposed to two elements of disease and decay: the Skaven, human-sized rats that live in a massive Under-Empire that seek to spread plague and take over the surface, and the Norscans, basically fantasy power-metal viking marauders who worship the chaos god Nurgle, lord of decay and disease. Our protagonists travel to a fortress deep in the reality-warped wasteland near the North Pole in order to contact their respective gods to seek aid to combat the End Times. While they are not fighting fantasy characters straight out of the 1980s, modern scientists and healthcare professionals have been fighting a virus which has threatened us all in a global pandemic. I go to get my second shot of Moderna tomorrow, and while I have been enjoying this new DLC and embarking on heroic quests with my friends online, others have worked to allow people like me to finally protect ourselves from Covid with a vaccine. -
2021-04-09
San Antonio Service Workers Receive Vaccines
Heard, a local organization in San Antonio, Texas, set up a COVID-19 vaccine clinic specifically for service industry workers. This is absolutely essential, as Texas has opened restaurants to full capacity, putting servers at an extreme risk of exposure. While spaces for the April 15th clinic were limited, by only allowing service industry employees to reserve a vaccine, they allowed individuals to protect themselves sooner by getting vaccinated. -
2021-04-09
Clinical Trials for HIV Vaccine has been Overwhelming Success due to the help of COVID-19 Vaccine
Clinical trials for HIV vaccines have been overwhelmingly successful with a 97% success rate at stimulating the production of rare immune cells which could lead to vaccines in the future. The COVID-19 vaccine has led to the increased development of m-RNA dosed vaccine which is also found in many other vaccines. By producing the COVID-19 vaccine has led to much more funding and research into the mRNA vaccine field which will bring about new changes in medicine in the future. -
2021-04-14
CVS Changes Policy to be more LGBTQ Inclusive
CVS changed COVID-19 vaccination registration form to be more trans/ LGBTQ friendly. Originally, the form asked people to mark their birth sex in order to get the vaccine however, now they have removed the question. The CDC has come out and said it is important to only ask about the gender identity not the gender on the birth certificate. CVS has issued a statement stating that sex, gender, race, or ethnicity does not hinder people from getting the vaccine. -
2021-04-16
Indigenous populations and COVID assistance
This article is about the government's assistance to help Native Americans and Alaska natives combat COVID-19. The Biden administration announced that they will put $4 billion of assistance. The money will be used for things like testing, treatment, and vaccines for these indigenous populations. This is critically important as the CDC announced that Native American and Alaskan Native populations are up to 3.5x more likely to contract COVID-19 than white people. One of the things that the article also notes is that confidence in getting the vaccine will also be an important factor in diminishing that 3.5x number. Efforts to educate specific populations on the vaccine will help the money, but there is a lot of work still to be done. -
2021-04-16
Vaccine Booster Shots
This article is about the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine shots will likely require follow-up booster shots. The executives of both companies announced that it is likely that people that received the vaccine will need their first booster shot within 12 months of receiving the vaccine, then possibly yearly shots afterward. At the end of the article it does note that the Pfizer vaccine is still 93.1% effective 6 months after the vaccine and Moderna reports 90% effective after the 6 month period. However it still seems that we will have to receive booster shots, which is no big deal unless people have the side effects that they had from the original vaccine. This would absolutely prevent many people from following through or even receiving the original vaccine. -
2020-04-13
Forgot my vaccine card to my second appointment
I forgot my vaccine card to my second Moderna dose appointment at ASU. It's silly of me to forget about something so major. They asked if I had a photo of it and I thought they wanted it to prove I had received one. I did have a photo but I had covered the information on it for a picture for my story on instagram. They just waived me along and gave me my second dose anyway, they came to me about 5 minutes after my shot with a new vaccine card. Now I have two different vaccine cards, maybe one will be my future "travel id". -
2021-04-15
Going Wild
I know the vaccine isn’t a golden ticket. I know you can still contract COVID. I know we don’t really know yet if a vaccinated person can spread it (which is why my kids are still on Distance Learning). And I know there are at least 30 countries where not one person has been vaccinated. I do know all of this. However, somewhere in my subconscious I am relaxing. I have not had a boba from 85 Degrees in 13 months and though my husband did bring home a Starbucks for me recently, that was pretty much it for the past year. Today, I somehow ended up with both. During our lunch walk, my bestie asked if I wanted to walk to Starbucks. We haven’t done that in over a year and I have to be honest, it felt amazing. Even though while we walked there, we said snarky stuff like “remember how we’re in a worldwide pandemic?” it still felt sort of normal. Then, my husband decided to pick up bread on the way home from 85 Degree and brought me a grapefruit tea with lychee jelly. My tastebuds are so happy and I’m barely asking myself if the person who made the drink has COVID. So I must be relaxing. Then again, I sprayed my boba cup with Lysol before touching it and dumped my Starbucks into a mug and reheated it before I drank it, soooo maybe not. -
2021-04-15
Kentucky Vaccination Statistics
Congratulations to the 3 nonbinary people in Kentucky who were vaccinated, however, I believe there could be more as some people might be afraid to select that box or don't know what to select as their gender as many queer people like I do when it comes to medical records as there is a small fear of the worry of facing discrimination in the healthcare field. This graph is both funny and a sign of a sad current present for queer and gender non-conforming people. -
2021-04-15
Vaccinated, but how soon is too soon?
I have been vaccinated for a month now and I know that I have a research trip coming up to New Orleans, but I am still wary. We talk at work all the time about how we are vaccinated and wear masks everywhere, but we still feel like it’s too soon to get back to that much of real life. We still know people who are hospitalized and dying of COVID, but without the vaccine, so if we have it we should be fine? I certainly plan to double mask up on my flight to New Orleans with a box of KN-95s that I purchased on Amazon a bit ago. I carry my vaccine card everywhere; I hope the vaccine passport becomes a thing. In the same way that I don’t like to shop at places that are not requiring masks or offer medical exemptions, I would rather go places that require the vaccine. Certainly, other countries will require it upon entry and that might very well make them safer than the US, which of course I don’t expect to require anything under the guise of freedom or some nonsense. “oh no, we can’t make people get the vaccine to travel!” without realizing that their kid needs MMR, Polio, DTAP, and the chicken pox vaccine to go to school. All I am saying is that if you made a Venn Diagram of the people who think its okay for a bakery in Colorado to refuse baking a cake for a gay wedding and the people who don’t think a private business can require a mask is almost a perfect circle. But maybe this is all psychological? Maybe I am afraid that being out in the world, despite being “safe” gives the wrong impression. That unless I wear a mask that has “Fully Vaccinated” printed on it and hang my vaccine card from my neck, people will look at me, out and about, and assume that I don’t believe in the pandemic or staying home and staying safe? Am I more afraid of people who are also out, but safely, thinking I am not safe, or am I afraid that people who think the pandemic is a hoax will think that I am one of them? As much as the mask lets me hide my facial expressions, it doesn’t hide enough that I am not still worried about what others think of me. -
2021-04-15
At least 5,800 Americans infected despite vaccination; California, Washington open up vaccine eligibility
At least 5,800 people who were vaccinated have contracted COVID-19. Of the 5,800, 400 were hospitalized and 74 died. Since the vaccines are only 90% effective, such infections were expected. The use of the J&J vaccines has been suspended until research into a rare blood-clotting side-effect is complete. -
2021-04-14
News Article: Pima County (AZ) Vaccinations Approach 250K - FEMA Vaccination Pods
By: Valerie Cavazos - Posted at 12:50 AM, Apr 14, 2021 and last updated 12:51 AM, Apr 14, 2021 TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Pima County is now a step closer to FEMA setting up vaccination PODS and bringing in about a quarter million doses. The state first rejected FEMA's offer to run the PODS, criticizing Pima County on how it's operating its current vaccine locations. The state has now officially given the county the green light to allow the FEMA PODS, but with a long list of stipulations. "I don't think it's anything that prevents us from moving forward," said Supervisor Dr. Matt Heinz. He says the stipulations include "how the state is not involved in any way, the state registration system cannot be utilized, the county has to cover any and all costs, any moment the state can decide without cause and without notice that the agreement is null and void," he said. The state can also audit the funds used to create, implement, operate, and dismantle the site. Heinz told KGUN9 the county received the 4-page proposed Intergovernmental Agreement Tuesday afternoon. "I'm pleased that we're seeing progress, because now the county can now go over this the next 24 hours or so," Heinz said, "And hopefully, very likely, agree to these conditions which are largely ones we were expecting." Administrator Chuck Huckelberry wrote in a memo, "We are in the process of reviewing these requirements to determine their reasonableness and/or ability to comply." -
2021-03-05
News Article: Gila County's COVID-19 efforts lead more urban counties
"By Christopher Brito, March 5, 2021, CBSnews.com While a majority of states and cities are still vaccinating higher priority groups of people, one county in Arizona is now allowing any resident over the age of 18 to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Gila County, which is located east of Phoenix, entered Phase 2 of their vaccine prioritization late last month, opening up eligibility to the general population. Part of the the decision to open vaccine eligibility is because Gila County has one of the lowest percentages of COVID-19 vaccine doses used in Arizona. Michael O'Driscoll, director of Public Health and Emergency Management for the county, told CBS affiliate KPHO-TV that they received permission from the state last week to offer the vaccine in a drive-thru clinic last weekend. "Prior to that, we were struggling to find enough people to make appointments to that, so the state gave me permission to offer it to any resident 18 and older," he said. About 56,000 people reside in the county. According to the Arizona's Department of Health Services, more than 13,000 people – or almost one fourth of residents – have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. "We did a survey before to get a sense of how many people in Gila County would consider getting the vaccine, and our survey came back about 50-60% of the residents would choose to get the vaccine if available," O'Driscoll said. Based on the data, over 5,600 people under the age of 65 have received the vaccine, including 73 people under the age of 20. One of the younger recipients, 18-year-old Jacob Jost, told KPHO-TV that he was "excited" to get the shot. "I have a little nephew, a little baby, so having the vaccine puts a peace of mind for that," Jost said. First published on March 5, 2021 / 12:13 PM © 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Christopher Brito is a social media producer and trending writer for CBS News, focusing on sports and stories that involve issues of race and culture. -
2021-04-13
How does the pandemic affect children?
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. -
2021-04-13
How does the pandemic affect children?
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. -
2021-03-12
Finally Eligible to be Vaccinated
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. -
2021
Vaccine Eligibility Expanding to Adolescents, Californian Parents React to Schools Reopening
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.