Items

• 2020-04-10

  How COVID-19 Physically and Mentally Drain Me

  When the pandemic started, I was starting my second year of high school, while my sister was in middle school. In order to continue my education, I had to use Zoom meetings for over a year. As a result, I was forced to stare at my laptop screen all day, causing strain in my eyes and pain in my lower back from sitting all day. Furthermore, doing Zoom meetings for all my classes made doing homework much more difficult as not only my teachers gave us so much homework due in a short amount of time (believing that being home all day give us more than enough time to complete it), but I felt drained after staring at my laptop all day so I avoid using it any longer, basically procrastinating until the last minute. Since I wasn't employed during high school, the pandemic didn't affect me in that aspect. However, that only meant that I was trapped in my apartment 24/7, unable to even go out for even a short walk. As a result, I was completely bored out my mind, only having books, music, videos, and sleep to temporarily starve off my boredom. But even that eventually became tedious, which led me to binge eat in a desperate attempt to entertain myself, leading me to gain weight. Honestly, if it wasn't for my sister being with me throughout the entire pandemic, the lockdown would've honestly felt like torture. Even after the pandemic ended, it still affect me as it made me appreciate my family and I want to be outside longer. And I believe that society shares that sentiment as a lot of people after the pandemic went on to do lots of outdoor activities with their friends and family to make up for the isolation and quarantine caused by COVID-19. As for if the pandemic will affect my future, I don't think so as I was fortunate enough for it to only affect my junior year of high school (so I was still able to enjoy prom and in person graduation), so in just a few years, it will be just be a normal memory.
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  2022-03-13

  Pfizer CEO says fourth COVID-19 shot 'necessary' due to waning immunity

  This is an Instagram post by the New York Post. This is of a news story in circulation currently regarding vaccines. Below, there are commenters expressing doubts in the effectiveness in the vaccines. Of note, one commenter says that they have already been vaccinated and boosted, but do not want anymore shots. Another is asking for it to stop already. To me, this shows some of the overall fatigue some are having with the vaccines themselves.
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  2022-02-16

  Destruction of COVID signage/safety equipment

  This email chain documents a series of incidents in my workplace where an anonymous individual has engaged in acts of vandalism against COVID safety signage.
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  2021-04-04

  Three Essex survivors recount their experiences of COVID-19

  This BBC news story shares the story of three British COVID-19 survivors. All three were hospitalized and recount how weak and close to death they felt. One survivor states it has taken her six months to fully recover, while another continues to struggle with breathing and walking due to damage to his lungs. All three are grateful to have survived.
• 2021-01-28

  My Time with COVID-19

  Well, it finally happened. After social distancing for the better part of a year, I caught COVID-19 from a trip to the grocery store (I think). At first, it started off as any other normal cold, but it soon degraded into the worst fever I have ever had in my life. It felt as though my entire body were a blast furnace, and the bodily fatigue I felt made the experience a lot worse. I was barely able to stand up to close my bedroom blinds for most of my illness. Thankfully, my family supplied me with plenty of love, good medicine, water, hot tea, and books to help me recuperate over the course of these last few weeks. As of January 28th, I no longer feel any fatigue or fever, but my sense of smell has yet to return. Hopefully, it returns soon because I miss the smell of my mom's cooking! This experience really put this pandemic into perspective, and I hope everyone stays safe and takes extra precautions to avoid catching this disease. It is no joke and it will knock out young people for the better part of two weeks. Protect yourselves!
• 
  2020-11-23

  High Risk Populations - The Story of David Nelson M. II

  “This email is in regard to my grandfather's Covid diagnosis: My grandfather's name is David Nelson M. II. He was born June 1, 1936, so that means he's 84. It also means he is in the high-risk group. In January of this year [2020], he went on a cruise with a group of his friends and returned feeling ill. At first he wrote his illness off as the flu, but his "flu" lasted for months. Eventually, went to a clinic and discovered he had COVID-19, so his doctor ordered him to go to the emergency room on November 3rd. He was in the emergency room for five hours before the staff finally admitted him, spending the next seven days in the hospital. After a five-course treatment on IV, he was released and allowed to go home on November 10th.” The contributor of this story also reported that within two weeks following his grandfather's release from the hospital, his grandfather had a serious fall. Whether or not this fall can be contributed to any prolonged side effects of the virus has not yet been determined. There have been, however, documented cases of people experiencing cognitive fatigue, such as dizziness and, and other side effects related to cognition and the nervous system weeks and even months following their recovery form COVID-19. This is a phenomena warranting further research to determine what the possible long-lasting effects may be to people who have survived the illness, especially those at high risk such as the elderly and those suffering from a chronic disease.
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  2020-09-24

  Do You Have ‘Zoom Fatigue’ or Is It Existentially Crushing to Pretend Life Is Normal as the World Burns?

  We each experience the pandemic in different ways but this article hits home for so many. While I personally am okay most days because my life is rather project based, which provides me something different from time to time, I still have days where it all seems so useless. My husband struggles daily. The stress and monotony has resulted in him napping, like a toddler, mid afternoon everyday. We're lucky that his job is such that he hours are flexible right now and his company does not use software to monitor his time working. If he didn't have this flexibility to nap or take a mid afternoon break to get outside I believe his mental health would be worse than it is just by existing right now.