Items

• 2022-11-21

  Why?

  At the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic, my dad was (and still is) a skeptic. He would always ask, "Why do some people get Covid, and others don't? How does the virus choose it's victims?" As the Pandemic continued to grow and spread, my step-mother and I got Covid at the same time. My dad took care of both of us, yet he still did not get Covid. We all survived. Then, the vaccine shots came out, and my dad said, "Hey, I never got it. Why should I take something, when I never got it in the first place?" He did not get the vaccine, while the rest of the family did. Then, my step-mother and I got Covid for a second time. We survived again. Dad said, "I never got the vaccine, and I never got Covid. You guys get the vaccine, and you have it twice. I don't understand at all." To this day, Dad still has not gotten Covid and still refuses to get the vaccines.
• 
  2022-06-25

  Do not inject your child without research

  This is a tweet from NealJ4USA. This person has decided not to vaccinate their children after having done some research on the subject. Due to distrust in the COVID vaccine, it is also making this person feel more hesitant about any other vaccines that end up getting pushed.
• 
  2022-06-25

  My body, my choice...except with experimental vaccines

  This is a tweet from geraldcelente. This person is expressing their anger towards Dr. Fauci and his ideas on what "my body, my choice" actually consists of. Within the vaccine skeptic communities, people like Dr. Fauci are held in contempt due to his stances on things like masks, vaccines, and lockdowns.
• 
  2020-12-14

  Changing hearts and minds

  A comic strip about Covid-19
• 
  2022-04-19

  GB Oral History, 2022/04/19

  The interviewee discusses vaccine hesitancy and life during the pandemic without having received the vaccine.
• 2020-06

  Fort Sill - Trainee

  While the pandemic had made digital communications and networking boom. Anything in the real world came to a screeching halt. I went into Fort Sill, Lawton Oklahoma for Advanced Individual Training (AIT) while had just begun to really put its foot into the door on US soil. Entering the facility we were immediately put in makeshift facilities specifically designed for incoming soldiers, they looked like 2-story mobile homes and each building contained roughly 60-80 troops per floor (can't remember exactly how many fit. but we were packed in there like sardines). We were originally told we would be in the facilities for 2 weeks before we would be allowed onto the rest of the base to begin training. 2 weeks, turned to 4, and that turned into 6 weeks. We weren't allowed to go outside other than to get an MRE and then go right back into our bays. We became so restless we would disassemble bunks and make makeshift pull-up bars, running up and down the hall in order to run miles. Eventually, we were released and allowed to continue training. Once we had actually begun AIT. We were immediately told that they were "overbooked" the facilities were forced to hold more soldiers than it was designed for due to outgoing flights being halted until an entire flight could be filled with military personal all going to the same location. Masks mandation was very hit or miss. Some days we would go by without them at all, others, we would be told to wear them the moment we got up, even wearing them during physical training, and while on the firing range shooting artillery.
• 
  2022-03-03

  And just like that...COVID is over

  This is an Instagram post by roryzacher. This is a meme showing what they think about the virus. This is a popular meme of a guy looking back at a girl in red, with his angry girlfriend in blue to the side of him. This meme became popular in the mid-2010s and has retained its popularity. In this context, it means now that there is a war, the COVID narrative is gone. This is commonly used by pandemic skeptics since they believe many of the COVID restrictions were more political rather than for health reasons. The war this is referencing is the Russian invasion on Ukraine.
• 
  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.
• 
  04/29/2021

  Kristina Jordan Oral History, 2021/04/08

  This interview was recorded as part of The Covid 19 Oral History Project, a project of the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute associated with The Journal of a Plague Year: A Covid 19 Archive. Tina is an essential worker, working as a paramedic for an ambulance service in Southern Wisconsin. She is also a full-time faculty at the technical college where she trains EMS students. Her husband is also an essential worker as a volunteer firefighter. In this interview she discusses changes to clinical hours for her students, transitioning to using human simulators. Issues with PPE shortages. Transitioning to online learning and how teaching was different. How her local Governor response affected her and her community. Changes to her day-to-day life with family and friends. Fear for her parents getting covid, staying isolated and missing family during a years’ worth of missed holidays and getting vaccinated. The effects on her community and the political aspect that crept into the COVID pandemic. Frustration with COVID deniers, mask refusal and social media blasting false information. Seeing the realities of COVID as an EMS driver and transporting COVID patients. Her feelings for those who lost loved ones during covid and their grieving process. Political, both state and federal, response to COVID. News outlets and how she chose to receive news. Comparing COVID to other world events like 9/11 and Desert Storm. Living in a rural area. Her hopes for the future and the lessons she hopes we have learned.
• 
  2020-08-10

  HIST30060: 5G Conspiracy

  (HIST30060) This photo is of a drawing by one of my housemates of part of a postcard that we received during the first lockdown in 2020. Conspiracy theories surrounding the virus and 5G had just begun to spread during Melbourne's first lockdown, yet my housemates and I felt quite removed from this phenomenon as our social circle mainly consisted of other young, progressive students who were very against these sorts of theories. Receiving this postcard in the mail however, was quite a shock, knowing that people close to us in our area of Melbourne shared these beliefs. Whilst we initially found the image of a man with a hole cut out of his mask humorous, hence the drawing, we were also astounded at the intensity of the covid-scam propaganda. This also marked my first taste of the bitter divide that was to come between pro and anti vaxxers in 2021.
• 
  2020-03-30

  Covid Parking

  I had a friend that kept telling me that the pandemic was fake. I told her that we needed to take it serious. When I took my daughter to the local urgent care for a doctors appointment, this was the parking lot scene. I just remember being blown away at the seriousness of the situation. The urgent care separated even those that came in for covid testing from the other patients, just to keep things extra safe.
• 
  2021-08-14

  Star Wars Meme

  picture showing a meme posted by Mark Hamill. It pokes fun at how ridiculous anti-maskers sound about having the right to not wear a mask. He calls on people not to be "maskholes"
• 
  2021-07-31

  My covid Story

  just writing about life since it started in late 2020
• 
  2020-02-24

  My Coronavirus Experience

  In the beginning of the pandemic, I immediately realized how a large portion of the public was not focused on the virus itself, but the racial controversy of the virus' origin. This was unnerving to the core, because it is a fact that COVID-19 came from China. While it was unacceptable to accept this as fact, MERS literally stands for Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome. It is clear that there was a pro-CCP agenda being pushed in the background when propagating the "COVID Safety" spiel. As time went on, more and more inconsistencies began popping up. Beauty and barber shops closed, but Nancy Pelosi is more than welcome to get her hair done. Masks become required to enter any building or participate in society at all, but when the new President was sworn in, the spectators were sitting shoulder-to-shoulder and masks were few and far between. What my story says about the pandemic is that while we may have had a real potential global crisis, I believe things were skewed, twisted, and flipped so that it is most convenient for those who hold the power, and not done in the best interest of the American people. An example of this in real life was how the Los Angeles Lakers, Ritz Carlton, and Bank of America (per store) were able to get PPP loans, drain the pool of PPP money, and leave small business owners fighting for crumbs. I have linked a Washington Post article below that expands on the PPP loan problem and how our government failed small business. The pandemic I fear will have long-lasting, Orwellian effects on our society in the sense that those in power will continue to use fear mongering to control the public through COVID. Even though a vast majority of the population has already had it and are building antibodies, Western European-style, 1940s era vaccination cards are beginning to circulate. I fear these cards will be the new "gold star" or "Scarlet Letter'', except those without it would be barred from society, rather than those with it. In my opinion, COVID today is what AIDS was in the eighties. Lots of unanswered questions, lots of fear, and government intervention so that free thinking is minimized. These three, and you have a perfect recipe for controlling the masses. Both diseases were politicized to death, and public opinion of the disease swung back and forth with politicization. If AIDS was blown up to the proportion that COVID was, I couldn't imagine the backlash the political and science communities would get from a certain demographic of people who are very vocal and have a statistically higher likelihood of contracting HIV. I hypothesize that pandemic would turn into pandemonium. With that, my experience during quarantine was as expected. Mental health suffered due to lack of human interaction and ability to go outside, and physical health suffered due to inability to go outside and lack of motivation which was connected to mental health. The main positive thing from the pandemic I can identify is the performance of my stock portfolio. Even though I lost my job due to COVID, I was still able to afford rent, food, and supplies to stay hunkered down in my new $900/month prison for my three month sentence. Another big positive from the quarantine was my savings. The pandemic helped me realize how much unnecessary or emotional spending I do. It helped me point out lots of bad habits I have so I can work on fixing them. Things like spending money when I'm sad, and identifying vices that hold me back in my day-to-day. While the pandemic brought a lot of negatives to me and the world around me, I believe there are some positive things to take away from it. Opening your mind to more than what the government feeds you, appreciating every moment you have, embracing new hobbies, and learning how to maneuver through change. These are all things the pandemic has taught me, but if I had the option, I wouldn't do it again. In terms of being a part of history, simply by living you are a part of history. I was at Sloan-Kettering in NYC with my family getting a life-extending cancer treatment for my father when 9/11 happened. He was one of three patients that day because while in surgery, the first plane hit the towers. The rest of the patients to be seen that day were canceled. I suppose the point I am trying to make is that history is subjective. 9/11 wasn’t 9/11 to me. 9/11 was the day I was blessed with enough time to make some foundational memories of my father before he passed. It can be argued that since I have been invested in GameStop since November, I was a part of history there too. I went to the Game 7 Cardinals vs. Red Sox World Series Game in Fenway Park. The game that broke the Bambino Curse. Again, it could be argued that I was a part of history there too, except my three year old self was asleep for the last two innings. History is subjective, and every day, everyday people like you and I make history. Historians and memoirists will use these events in the future to write articles, make movies and tv shows, write books, and extrapolate many other kinds of art from it. However, most often historical stories are told through a lens of subjectivity, and because of that, eventually all history becomes skewed to the point where it is indistinguishable from fable.
• 
  2020-07-11

  Q Anon Shaman Video

  Back when there was a rumor that COVID-19 couldn't survive in the Arizona heat. This guy is one of the people who got a platform during the Trump COVID era. This is a must-see video for future research into pandemic skeptics.
• 
  2021-01-26

  Covid-19 Statistics

  The numbers of Covid-19 really have no affect on me or most of my family. The lies of these numbers is tremendous, people reporting deaths without considering any other influences that have been previously harming or at least not helping the patient. I would pay for an accurate death poll of people who had died from just Covid-19 and only Covid. Then would we know the real 'numbers.' I am blessed however to say that I am aware of no close family member or friend that has had Covid, and that is something I will continue to thank God for. I still can't believe the fear pressed upon by the media and how stupidly successful it has been. People acting as if the Black Plague is running about and how the worst is always yet to come. For the better part of us, Covid has truthfully helped me get a step ahead of life. To get extra training in, doing things others weren't willing to do, it's given me a step ahead of a good amount of my peers. This virus will make of you what you make of it. Some people just choose to respond differently than others.
• 
  2021-01-06

  Vaccine required for events

  This is an article going over some things you may not be allowed to do without the vaccine. This includes going to big events and being in large crowds.
• 
  2020-12-23

  COVID19 Vaccine myth and facts

  This is an article going over some myths and facts about the vaccine. This is to help those who are skeptic on certain things about the vaccine.
• 
  2020-12-17

  Who should get the vaccine

  This article just explains who should, and should not, be getting the vaccine. This depends on your health status and other issues such as vaccine allergies.
• 
  2020-08-28

  The Vaccine: a political scandal

  This is a doctors blog and she is explaining why she will not be getting the COVID19 vaccine. He believes it was produced too fast and that it was a political scandal and he does not trust it.
• 
  2020-12-23

  Vaccine Skeptics

  This article explains what is in the vaccine, why it is unique/safe compared to other vaccines, and also explains the side effects of the vaccine.
• 
  2020-12-15

  No, COVID-19 vaccines don’t contain Satan’s microchips (and other scary conspiracy theories aren’t true either)

  The article addresses four of the main COVID-19 vaccine conspiracies as well as expert opinions about them.
• 
  2020-12-18

  Covid vaccine and mask conspiracies succeed when they appeal to identity and ideology

  This article introduces motives behind those who join conspiracy theories revolving around the COVID-19 vaccine
• 
  2020-05-29

  Coronavirus: Bill Gates 'microchip' conspiracy theory and other vaccine claims fact-checked

  This story specifically addresses and debunks the conspiracy theory that the coronavirus vaccine implants microchips into an individual's bloodstream, as well as some background ideas as to why conspiracy theories are prevalent and a rumored cow dung vaccine.
• 2021-01-12

  COVID-19 Initial Thoughts

  In March of 2020 I got my first real glimpse of what practically the entire next year of life was going to be like. China released a virus that would eventually spread across countries. From that first report everything went south. People began to freak out like it was the Black Plague. This fear spread nationwide in the United States influencing unknowing people that this was a virus to be feared. A virus with over 99% survival rate caused a panic that hasn't been seen in centuries. People almost might as well have freaked out about the common cold at the rate it was/is at. All over the media were false news, lies, and deception influencing such thoughts, giving people different beliefs and thoughts on practically everything regarding it. This year was indeed crazy, but not because of a virus and sicknesses. Because of freaked out crazy people thinking this is the end of the world and influencing others that it is as well.
• 2020-12-25

  Christmas in a pandemic.

  This year many families were forced into changing traditions due to California lockdowns. My family did not agree with these lockdown orders and instead went on to host a normal Christmas like any other year. We had more decorations than ever, and we gave out presents to everyone. We went to church on Christmas eve, where it started raining while we were outside, and we visited our cousins and grandparents for a Christmas day dinner. Though we were putting ourselves at risk, everyone there agreed to be there and no one got the virus. My prayer goes out to those who had to scrap traditions for Covid, or just through overall fear.
• 2020-12-14

  COVID Thanksgiving

  My family’s thanksgiving dinner wasn’t that much different than our other thanksgiving dinners. My family isn’t a big believer in COVID 19 because honestly it's just a flu. So, we envied our family, only one part of the family didn’t come because they are crazy COVID cautious. Other than that it was realistically normal. It was more relaxed than usual but it was nice. Covid is real but the response to it is worse than the sickness. I hope the other generations don’t have to deal with the government we have right now in California.
• 
  2020-11-15

  Stranger intentionally coughed on 4-month-old baby at Victoria hospital

  According to Vancouver Island Mother, a man purposefully coughed on her and her 4-month-old baby while at the hospital. This comes as BC Covid-19 cases have been at an all time high.
• 
  2020-10-28

  "Build Back Better": A Plandemic Narrative

  An image shared by the person linked describing an image that is the digital equivalent of putting photos on a tack board and connecting them with strings while saying "Pepe Silvia". Apparently people think "extreme radical democratic liberals" used a bioweapon to kickstart a "communist" revolution or something in some sort of crazy bio-Posadist horror fantasy laced with a bit of the anti-semitic fear of the elites. Truly strange.
• 
  2020-07-07

  Conspiracy Theories can be Deadly

  Conspiracy theories can be interesting, scary, and even entertaining. But they have real life consequences for some. This story about Carsyn Leigh Davis illustrates how dangerous conspiracy theories can be. Davis’s mother took her to a COVID-19 church party to purposely expose her to the virus. She was immunocompromised and became seriously ill. She was treated with treatments like hydroxychloriquine which have not been proven to be safe or effective by the FDA. She ultimately died from the disease. Here’s an example of folks who buy into conspiracy theories like Plandemic and Q-Anon and how their lack of information literacy has real consequences on their own health and the health of others.
• 
  2020-08-25

  The New Pandemic Flash Point: Your Vacation

  This story explores the question of whether or not there is an acceptable form of travel in the midst of Covid. It is an opinion piece focusing on a man who travels regardless of regulations and shut downs. He tells his story of the backlash he is receiving from both his professional and personal life. He is skeptical about the severity of the pandemic and does not realize the impact this traveling could cause. This is an important piece because is shows the world through the eyes of a traveling skeptic. Someone who may be spreading the virus while being asymptomatic. This article explores the realms of acceptability in travel and asks the reader if there is any form of travel that is acceptable these days.
• 
  2020-07-19

  'I exempt myself:' Protesters march against mandatory masks

  "About 60 people gathered outside Ottawa City Hall on Sunday for an event called March to Unmask. "Some were skeptical about the evidence for making masks mandatory in indoor public spaces. Some argued that it’s a human rights issue. Others were skeptical of government in general."
• 
  04/01/2020

  Daniel Cogley Oral History, 2020/04/01

  Daniel Cogley discusses his experience with the COVID-19 pandemic. Daniel is a salesman for a sanitization company that provides products and services to primarily restaurants and bars. Daniel was furloughed during the crisis and discusses his experiences with money, food, the response of government officials to the pandemic and his hopes that people will take the disease more seriously.
• 
  2020-07-04

  Woman angry she was asked to leave ER after refusing to wear a mask

  A tweet, which has gone "viral" in which a woman films an encounter she had with the triage nurse at St. Joseph's Hospital in Toronto where she says she went after suspecting she had broken a finger. As the staff in the video repeatedly tell her, Ministry of Health policy states everyone in hospital must wear a mask, and a hospital may refuse treatment to a patient who refuses to comply. The staff also repeatedly informs the woman filming in a health care centre is not permitted, under law, due to concerns for the privacy of other patients. While many are very angry with this individual, and government and the hospital have roundly condemned her behaviour, others in the comment section for this tweet agree with her and defend her.
• 
  2020-07-03

  Death Likes to Roll the Dice

  Wearing a mask has become a political issue more so than a health issue. As someone who has existing health conditions, wearing a mask always seemed to be a matter of social responsibility. It has been interesting, and at times confusing, to see all of the arguments used to try and discourage mask wearing. This item was added TAGS v6.1.9.1. I originally searched under the hashtag #wearadamnmask. Within that search, I have chosen to add the following tweet because it describes the arguements that many people make for not having to wear a mask.
• 
  03/22/2020.

  Facebook Meme: "covidiot"

  A meme that makes fun of people who ignore COVID guidelines.