Items

• 2020-05-29

  Verazzano Bridge

  Taking daily walks during the pandemic didn’t make me feel “healthy” or “well-adjusted”. I watched the way my neighbors and I would pull our masks up when we passed each other on the street. Saddening, on one hand; a show of communal care, on the other. I think it’s human to want to pull a silver lining out of a tragedy and I guess the silver lining here is that I had time to s l o w down and look at my community, not just the people, but the signs on storefronts, dishes of cat food next to porches, and yes, the outline of the Verazzano peeking out through the clouds hovering over Belt Parkway. I used to walk on this walkway when I was a child too, and though the pandemic has changed everything, the fishermen are still here, their rods propped against the rail. People are still riding tandem bikes. Still laughing, talking, breathing in the salty air.
• 
  July 17, 2020

  #wearamask #cooperstown #nationalbaseballhalloffame

  #wearamask #cooperstown #nationalbaseballhalloffame https://instagr.am/p/CCw4BjVJAIQ/
• 
  July 21, 2020

  #highline #nyc #goldenhour #bridgeofsighs #bluesky

  #highline #nyc #goldenhour #bridgeofsighs #bluesky https://instagr.am/p/CC7EWhrpc-j/
• 
  2023-02-28

  Aquilino House

  This is a photo taken sometime during the stay of the Aquilino family in the house that can now be seen on the sight of Historic Richmond Town. The house's name since becoming a part of Historic Richmond Town has been called the Edwards-Barton House, after two prominent families that lived in the house during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. When Historic Richmond Town originally named this structure they excluded the Aquilino family in the naming of the house, but during the lockdown caused by Covid-19 it allowed for a quiet period of introspection where these families of different cultural backgrounds outside of the Anglo-centric founding could be honored. Staten Island is a very diverse place and the institutions that operate on its soil should reflect that aspect. Photo credit goes to New York Public Library.
• 
  February 13th, 2023

  Status of Mental Health During Lockdown

  I was overwhelmed and stress when we went to online classes. The photo I posted is a representation of how I felt during that time
• 
  April 10, 2020

  2020 Grocery Store Fashion

  “This morning’s grocery store fashion,” I wrote on April 10, 2020 when I posted this photo to Instagram. I tagged #socialdistancing #maskedcrusader and #newyorktough. This was the first time I wore a mask when I left the house and it was one of only a few times I’d gone farther than my backyard or front stoop since lockdown began the month prior. I had been listening to public health officials who advised wearing “face coverings” to help “flatten the curve” (reduce the number of new infections to prevent overcrowding in hospitals). I also followed their advice to opt for cloth and save the real masks for health care workers on the “front lines” of the pandemic who were facing a shortage of “PPE - personal protective equipment.” So many new words and phrases had entered the lexicon and I was struggling to keep up. Masking felt like a way I could protect myself and family and contribute to the effort to squash Covid-19. I found a video tutorial for how to make a “no sew” mask using a bandana folded over hair ties for ear loops. I added a coffee filter in the middle of the folds for good measure. I used this type of mask into the summer of 2020 when I realized masks weren’t going away anytime soon and started wearing more fitted cloth versions. I remember masking felt strange and changed the way I interacted with people I passed who couldn’t see my customary polite smile of acknowledgment. I started nodding slightly and learned to squint my eyes to indicate a smile when I passed people to make up for this impediment. Masking made it difficult to be heard and understood especially through other precautionary barriers like plexiglass shields at checkout counters. These days when I encounter people I first met when masking was more widespread, I sometimes don’t recognize them because I’ve never seen the bottom half of their face. It’s a bizarre set of circumstances. Now I usually only mask if I have respiratory symptoms or if I am around someone particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. When I do mask, I choose an N-95 respirator which is readily available and more effective than my cloth mask and coffee filter creation of April 2020.
• 
  2020-01-01

  UC Berkeleyland

  Daily photographic journal golf UC Berkeley during the Covid-19 Pandemic years 2020 through 2022
• 
  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.
• 
  2022-05-21

  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

  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.
• 
  2022-05-03

  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.
• 
  2022

  Teachers are Tired

  Now that we are ending the 2022 school year, many people have "returned to normal". Most students no longer wear masks in schools. However, we are still working through the pandemic. Teachers are still at risk for contracting COVID and are navigating the severe behavioral problems of students. With summer approaching, everyone is looking forward to a break from an extremely stressful year.
• 
  2022-05-11

  Fact Checkers

  This is an Instagram post by covid_antivax. This post is in criticism of social media removing posts deemed "misinformation" about COVID and the vaccine. The tags from this user, like #depopulation, suggest that the goal of COVID and the vaccines is to reduce the population size. The censoring of information regarding the virus and the vaccine has been troublesome for myself. I do not think it is the right of social media to dictate what can and cannot be said, barring anything illegal, like death threats. I think it is a dangerous trajectory when these multinational companies start deciding what governing bodies and people should think. It brings into question people's actual rights to speech. People should have the right to voice their opinion on subjects like this. If people are prevented from speaking out as much on social media, they will get driven to more niche websites and forums to discuss things, which in turn help create more echo chambers. The great thing about free speech is the ability to bounce ideas off with other people and be given the opportunity to decide for myself what is right with more information available. Taking this away will make it harder to really test ideas and make them more refined. This is more my criticism of social media in general, but the talk on the virus and the vaccines has noticeably made it worse for any side to reconcile.
• 
  2022-04-18

  Natural Medicine

  This is an Instagram post by angelicaviator. This person suggests that more natural cures can help with COVID symptoms. Since natural cures don't make profit for the healthcare industry, this is why this person thinks that they are often overlooked. The picture that goes with this has types of juicing suggestions on what goes best against a certain ailment.
• 
  2022-04-20

  "Trust the Science" is Anti-Science

  This is an Instagram post by city_slicker_bnswagon. This person is questioning the way we think of the science surrounding COVID. This person thinks that the virus is more political than it is about health.
• 
  2022-04-22

  Wear a Mask

  This is an Instagram post by cabbiecat. This user posted a comic that is referencing the recent lift on plane mask mandates in the United States. The comic itself is suggesting that by people removing their masks that COVID will spread easier.
• 
  2022-04-11

  26th Birthday

  This is an Instagram post by alannakate96. This person is celebrating her 26th birthday while wearing a mask. She thanks her family for helping celebrate her day despite having a "spicy cough" as she calls it.
• 
  2022-03-03

  Vaccinated: Because I'm Not An Idiot

  This is an Instagram post by heretic_designs_shop. This is a cross stitch of an opinion on the vaccines. Since the vaccines have become available, people have been making and selling merchandise with how they feel about the vaccines. The person that owns this shop says that this design is available for purchase.
• 
  2022-03-08

  I am not ready to give up my mask

  This is an Instagram post by mrjeff2000. This post shows a picture with words on the mask for reasons to keep wearing one. Some of the reasons include: too many still being hospitalized; and the protection of the immunocompromised and disabled.
• 
  2022-03-14

  Feeling Awkward in Your Mask?

  This is an Instagram post by gailwaldby. This is a comic of showing you how you can deal with wearing a mask while other people aren't wearing one. Some of the advice includes: ignoring people, focusing on the task at hand, and remembering why you are wearing a mask still. For some, they might have reasons for wanting to continue wearing a mask if they are high risk, or are in contact regularly with people that are high risk. Others might not feel confident in cases not going down as much as the news claims, so that could be another reason to continue wearing a mask. Whatever the case, some might have anxiety standing out if they are one of the only people wearing a mask in a public setting.
• 
  2022-03-15

  Vaccine Requirements for Umrah Pilgrims

  This is an Instagram post by shamaamoo. This is a PSA for vaccine requirements for those going on a pilgrimage. It shows a variety of vaccines that are accepted for this, as it includes many people from around the world. Pilgrimages have been affected by the virus since they include lots of travel and spaces with lots of people in one area.
• 
  2022-03-23

  Masks Save Lives

  This is an Instagram post by vivekcherianmd. This post is by someone advising others to continue wearing masks despite a lot of the restrictions being lifted because young kids are not eligible to be vaccinated yet. This person recommends people use KN95 and N95 masks to best protect themselves. In the picture, we see an illustration of a kid in a mask saying "masks save lives."
• 
  2022-03-28

  A Voter Registration Rally & Vaccine Clinic

  This is an Instagram post by whitneyfordekalb. This is an advertisement for people to attend a voter registration and vaccine clinic. It is calling on a few Black organizations in addition to unions to join the rally. Below are a few sponsors of the event. This event is in Georgia.
• 
  2022-03-02

  I Support the Current Thing

  This is an Instagram post by waking.the.dead. This is an NPC meme of people claiming they have a healthy distrust of authority, while supporting things imposed by authority. The NPC meme is a meme that gained popularity in the late 2010s and has had continued popularity in the 2020s. NPC stands for "Non Playable Character", which is a term used in gaming for pre-programed characters that have a set script for when the players interact with them. This has expanded to apply to people, with it being used as a slight towards any and all political sides, and portraying the side they don't agree with as having no original thoughts of their own. The context of the NPC meme with the "I have AIDS" thing at the bottom is a reference to the claim that some of the COVID vaccines actually weaken immune systems and sometimes give people AIDS. The mask with the Ukraine flag refers to the current war between Russia and Ukraine, and support of Ukraine in some circles has been seeing as "following the herd because the media/government said to." The top part of "I have healthy distrust of authority" is meant to be ironic, as the NPC has fallen for all the current narratives without question.
• 
  2021-03-19

  The Coronavirus Sounds Kinda Dangerous

  This is an Instagram post by clarellou. The post is of a comic showing a man with unhealthy habits calling the coronavirus dangerous. This is supposed to be criticism of people not taking care of their own health, while being fearful of something less deadly than being obese or a drug abuser.
• 
  2021-08-03

  The Pandemic Is Not Over

  This is an Instagram post by courtneyahndesign. This user is warning people about a new variant and how it is affecting others. She brings up the CDC and what they say about this issue. She says that if you are not, you should be wearing a mask and get vaccinated.
• 
  2022-01-18

  Protect the Vulnerable

  This is an Instagram post by courtneyahndesign. This is an Instagram post critiquing people's lack of care for others during the pandemic. She thinks it is ridiculous that people are already going places maskless and being careless with how much they expose themselves. At the end, she recommends for people to go and get tested.
• 
  2022-04-11

  Man of Steel

  This is an Instagram post by elmagnifico5000. This post is of a man wearing a mask while showing something he is interested in with it. In the hashtags, he is encouraging people to stay safe, get boosted, and for others to wear masks.
• 
  2022-04-11

  Stratford Literary Festival

  This is an Instagram post by stratfordlitfest. The caption says that masks are not compulsory, but they are encouraged for the safety of others attending. These types of policies are more of the norm in some places, as opposed to full-on mandates like there was in 2020 and parts of 2021. As time has gone on, more places have lifted restrictions, but are not entirely okay with everyone being mask-free. Though, this message to me does not make it out to be like wearing a mask is entirely of one's free will. They say "we encourage audiences to wear a mask, unless exempt." The "unless exempt" part makes me believe that masks will be encouraged fairly more than in other places, as only those that would qualify as exempt would not be encouraged to do so. For me, I find this to be a bit wishy-washy with how it is worded, and it would be better if it were more straightforward by saying "masks requried", or "masks not required, but encouraged." The exemption status makes me think masks are more compulsory than what it might be trying to give off.
• 
  2022-04-11

  When You Ride DC Circulator You Must Wear A Mask

  This is an Instagram post by dc_circulator. This is a PSA on why you should wear a mask while riding the DC Circulator. In the caption, it says that there will be no ride if there is no mask. This PSA is meant for people living in Washington DC and use the public transit there. While some places around the US have been lifting restrictions, the US Capitol still has many in place, at least for public transportation.
• 
  2022-04-11

  New Year, New Dreams

  This is an Instagram post by ankletzdreams. This is a post of a woman who has received her Pfizer booster shot. From the hashtags and the post, she seems fairly content with it.
• 
  2022-04-11

  A New Stanford Study

  This is an Instagram post by newsrescue, which is a news site that claims to bust "fake news." The study that this news story is referring to is one on spike proteins, which found that the vaccinated and unvaccinated had roughly the same amount of spike proteins in their blood. This news story is designed to show that the vaccines may not be as effective as they are claimed to be.
• 
  2022-04-11

  Medicare Y COVID-19

  This is an Instagram post by crespoinsurance. This is a post written in Spanish giving advice to elderly on vaccines. It advises people fifty and older, and those that are immunocompromised to get vaccinated. It also says that Medicare covers COVID vaccines.
• 
  2022-03-19

  Thought on Pfizer's Fourth Booster

  This is an Instagram post by willingtowalkaway. The poster is using a tweet to make their point. In the tweet, someone by the username of SaraVic333 says that she does not want another shot. In the hashtags in the Instagram post, the user is in agreement, saying that they do not want it either. Another thing that is tagged is "natural immunity", which some believe is enough to counteract COVID without needing a vaccine. Other tags include things like "I will not comply" and "poison." Posts like these are important because they help show what skeptics think of the vaccines from their own perspective rather than one assumed by others.
• 
  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.
• 
  2022-04-10

  Day of the Child vaccine drive in Peru

  En el Día de la Niña y el Niño, acude con tu pequeña y/o pequeño a los centros de vacunación por su vacuna contra la #COVID19. ¡Protege a tu familia de este virus! 💪🏼 #MeVacunoPerú 🇵🇪 A post by the Ministry of Health in Peru promoting the vaccination of children for the Day of the Child, it encourages people to go get vaccinated over the weekend.
• 
  2022-04-10

  Campaign to get your second dose in Peru

  This is an Instagram post by the Ministry of Health in Peru informing people to wait 21 days and then go get the second COVID-19 vaccine dose in the vaccination center closest to their home.
• 
  2022-04-04

  Brainwashed Sheep

  This is an Instagram post from _travelsnapz_. This post shows a picture of a massive group of sheep being led to the slaughter, which is Pfizer. It is accusing people that get the vaccine that they are sheep and doing so because they cannot think for themselves.
• 
  2022-03-12

  Brave Princess

  This is an Instagram post by wen_li0213. The kid in this picture has just gotten their first Pfizer dose, and one of the comments is saying that she is a "brave princess" for doing so.
• 
  2022-04-05

  I Had Mild Symptoms Because I'm Fully Vaccinated

  This is an Instagram post by tsmr76. This post shows a meme making fun of people that have gotten fully vaccinated, only to later get COVID. It is meant to question the idea that the vaccines are effective. In one of the tags of this post, they mention "mass formation psychosis", which was a term coined by Dr. Robert Malone in an interview with Joe Rogan. The idea behind this term is that it refers to a mob mentality behind the vaccines, where people will essentially believe what they hear, repeat it, and get others to join in; which creates an environment where everyone seemingly agrees with each other. This creates a mob mentality towards those that think differently.
• 
  2022-04-06

  Fully Vaccinated

  This is an Instagram post by lynobtena. It shows a picture of a kid that had just received his second dose of Pfizer. There is a place for kids to get their picture taken after getting vaccinated, with cardboard cutouts of a Paw Patrol character and Iron Man.
• 
  2022-04-07

  The First Dose

  This is an Instagram post by haelmron. This shows a picture of a little kid that had just received their first Pfizer dose. It looks like a special place was set up for kids to get their picture taken after getting vaccinated.
• 
  2022-04-07

  Corrupt Vaccines

  This is an Instagram post by dswlaura1. This post shows a TikTok video, with hashtags as a description. The tags refer to things like the Ottawa Freedom Convoy, which has been a massive ongoing protest against vaccine mandates in Canada. Other tags include references to "The Great Reset", which is a conspiracy theory that the pandemic was created in order to make people more subservient to elites in power, while losing both their money and freedoms in the process. "Agenda 2030" is another conspiracy theory where it was established that 2030 will be the official "end" to the virus, along with other things.
• 
  2022-04-07

  Segunda Dose

  This is an Instagram post by brunaemirella. This post is in Portuguese. This is a picture of a little girl that just received her second Pfizer dose.
• 
  2022-04-07

  Fact Checkers Have Proven This False

  This is an Instagram post by labrini_angelidou. This is a parody of the Adam and Eve story in the Bible, but it uses the fruit in place of the vaccine. The snake is representative of those encouraging you to take the vaccine, because the fact checkers have proven death from vaccines to be false. In the tags, many vaccines are listed, such as: Johnson and Johnson; Astrazeneca; Pfizer; and Moderna.
• 
  2022-04-06

  The Pass Wars

  This is an Instagram post by namastou. This post is partly in French, and it is a satire on Star Wars. The post references President Emanuel Macron, the current French president in the tags. It also uses the tag #plandemie, which is a French way of saying "plandemic", which is the belief that this pandemic was planned out by the rich in order to get richer and control their populace. They also say #liberté, or "liberty", possibly referring to their side being the side of freedom. #thegreatreset is another tag that is about the pandemic triggering a "great reset" where the rich have almost near control of the population through things like vaccine passports, which would limit freedom of movement if some refused to get the vaccine, thus creating discrimination between the vaccinated and unvaccinated.
• 
  2022-04-06

  Boosted

  This is an Instagram post by sfhippy. This post is a selfie of someone who just got boosted with pfizer. Pfizer is one of the vaccines approved for boosters. The user used #safe, which I am going to guess that they believe the vaccine will make them safer than before.