Items

• 
  2020-05-08

  The world outside, during the pandemic

  The article describes how the pandemic has affected the natural environment in Arizona: the building of the border wall between the US and Mexico (with great effects on animals), the changes to how firefighters will put out fires during this time to adhere to social distancing guidelines, and the increase in trash in federal natural areas. It has described how some people have gained a new appreciation for the environment during these times.
• 
  2021-02-14

  My Story: I Got COVID-19 Because of ICE

  I am sending a diary style writing where I share my experience during the pandemic. I focus on the issue of ICE during the pandemic. Before the lockdowns, my uncle was detained by ICE and was deported during the pandemic. My uncle has been living in the US for 25+ years and Mexico, my uncle's home country, has changed a lot since he last lived there. For that reason, I went to Mexico to take him home. This made me get COVID.
• 
  2021-02-22

  Black history and the COVID-19 pandemic

  This post tags an article titled "The Black Plague" which states that according to the Reuters report African Americans are more likely to die from Covid-19 than any other group in the U.S.. The article goes further in to explain the synopsis of affected and deaths of certain states but it importantly states that black people are more likely to have pre-existing health conditions that weaken their immune systems causing them to be easily infected. Though this is one reason why; other reasons including, as stated in the article "Trumpanian Malfeseance" is another major cause. With the testing locations around the U.S having major breakpoints, it was noted that zipcodes of higher-income families had the closest and many available sights of getting tested compared to zip codes with low-income families. Further studies showed that out of these lower-income locations, the majority was filled by black people. This limited the opportunity for black people to get tested and explains how the pandemic is affecting black people.
• 
  2021-02-19

  The Delta Flight Museum Will Become Georgia’s Largest Covid Vaccination Site Next Week

  The state of Georgia has announced that they are partnering with Delta Air Lines to turn the Delta Flight Museum into a vaccination center. The center will be one of four major vaccination centers in Georgia. Vaccinations will be offered through drive-thru and walk-up.
• 
  2021-02-19

  Vaccinations on campus

  ASU is now vaccinating people on campus. Members of the ASU community receive an email when they are eligible. I am eligible and have tried making an appointment twice, but the appointments are always full. After you get a vaccine, employees are supposed to upload a copy of their vacine to an ASU website.
• 
  2021-02-17

  Vaccination Blues

  My homeland, Orange County, has not been a place to be very proud of during COVID-19. Between anti-maskers, inept leadership, lack of transparency, and inequity in access to both COVID-19 testing and vaccines, this year has been a roller coaster in our little coastal chunk of CA. The vaccine roll out has been a massive headache. For the past month on Instagram, I see post after post of people younger than I who are getting their vaccinations because they live in another part of the state or country, while locally it's only health care workers I know that have been able to be vaccinated. Although other parts of CA (and the country) have begun to vaccinate teachers and food workers, Orange County is stubbornly (as I was told in a meeting today) waiting until 50% of the over 65 population is vaccinated before they open it up to the next tier. Though this causes me endless anxiety - will I be able to get a vaccine before my high school of 2500 opens for in person instruction - the one relief of the week was that my 65 year old mother was FINALLY able to get a vaccination appointment. The Othena system is a joke - she tried numerous times and couldn't get an appointment for the supposed super pods. Kaiser is still only vaccinating 75+! The Nextdoor app clued us in that a local hospital (where my mom has her insurance) was starting to vaccinate. Despite logging on in the very beginning of February, the earliest appointment she could get is for March 3. She took it, but I wanted to keep searching, because I worry that if the next Tier opens, she may have trouble getting a second shot if she waits until March 3. Nextdoor again clued me in to Rite-Aid, where a friend of my mom's outside OC got her vaccine. Best part - you go directly through Rite Aid, so no Othena! Success! My mom made her appointment on Saturday for tomorrow. We were jubilant! I told both my best friends about the Rite Aid trick, and within three days, they had their elderly family members signed up. Today, an hour after my best friend texted me that her dad got his Rite Aid vaccine, my mom sent me her cancellation message. Apparently the current winter storms have delayed the arrival of vaccines. My mom got lucky again, because it turns out that our school district is vaccinating employees 65+. Though retired, because she is a part time employee, my mom received an invitation today. Once she got the Rite Aid cancellation, she made her an appointment with the school district. Tomorrow is the first day the school district is vaccinating, so we have no idea what to expect, and are a little nervous because her insurance is not one of the carriers of the school district. Fingers crossed that she can still get it! Though I am genuinely happy for everyone getting vaccinated, it is frustrating that it is so much work here to try and get one. Using the Othena site hasn't worked for anyone I know - everyone I know has been vaccinated through their work or somewhere like Rite Aid. Honestly, if I see another post of someone with their vaccination card with a "do your part!" message I am going to throw my phone at the wall. I do want to do my part, if only Orange County would get their act together and manage this whole roll out better. Come on Orange County, you can do better.
• 
  2021-02-13

  Canada is 'playing chicken' with COVID-19 by reopening while variants are spreading widely

  Many are criticizing provinces plan's to continue to open up as Covid-19 variants are springing up throughout the country. Places like Quebec have begun to reopen businesses such as museums, malls, and hair salons while having a curfew in place. Newfoundland is facing a current surge with a variant strain.
• 2021-02-11

  Vaccinated!

  Relief was what I felt when I received my covid vaccine. I felt even more relief when my 21-year-old daughter was able to receive her vaccine since she would not have been able to have gotten vaccinated until early summer. My first vaccine appointment was at 12:30 in the morning, and my daughter rode along with me to keep me company since I had to drive to State Farm Stadium. As we exited the freeway to go to the stadium, the parking lot where the vaccines were being administered could be seen, and I was surprised that it looked relatively vacant of vehicles. When we reached the parking lot, we were directed to follow the signs and pull up to the first checkpoint, where a person verified I had an appointment. At the second checkpoint, a person scanned in my appointment and asked if my passenger had an appointment as well. I told the person “no,” and they said, “we have had a lot of people not show up tonight for their vaccination, so if your passenger would like to get vaccinated, they are welcome to do so.” I immediately accepted the offer for my daughter to get her vaccination, and we were directed to another spot where she could fill out her paperwork for getting a shot. Once my daughter completed her paperwork, we were sent to wait in a line where the vaccines were administered, and after a five-minute wait, we had our first vaccine. After we had our shots, we were directed to wait in a line of cars for fifteen minutes to ensure we did not have any adverse reactions to the vaccination. While waiting for the fifteen minutes, an individual came to our vehicle and scheduled our second vaccination appointment, which was a huge relief since going through the computer system the state had established was cumbersome. What was surprising to my daughter and me was that while we waited during that fifteen-minute time frame, a nurse came by to ask us how we were feeling. We both said we were okay and stated we were surprised that we could get through the vaccine process so quickly and how there were so few cars. The nurse told us that many people were skipping out of their appointsments out of fear of rumored side effects from the vaccine, which was why there was extra serum for individuals like my daughter, who had ridden along. So I had the right schedule for the right night for my daughter to ride along. And now my whole household has been inoculated, which is a relief after three times of being in quarantine. Whew!
• 
  2021-01-15

  Getting Vaccinated at State Fairgrounds

  As the vaccines were getting rolled out in Arizona, we were excited to learn that Arizona State University faculty fit into category 1B, as teachers. When the Arizona Patient Portal opened for 1B appointments on January 11 we dropped by the site at lunchtime, worried that we'd missed our opportunity. As luck would have it there were appointments available on January 15 at State Far Stadium in the wee hours of the morning. We were surprised as we'd heard the rollout of the site had met with difficulties earlier in the morning; we chose the a time just after midnight on the morning of the 15th, rather than at 4am (which seemed just too awkward.) On the 15th, we were antsy and hoped that the wait would not be too long; we decided to leave a bit early for the stadium, which is an hour drive from our home. As we arrived, we saw the shining portable lights of the vaccination center, just south of the stadium, in a parking lot. We navigated to the entrance and were delighted that nobody appeared to be waiting. Volunteers directed us through an elaborate maze of lanes, and traffic cones. (Many of my friends, in fact, served as volunteers, partly out of civic duty and partly to get the vaccine.) We showed one registrar our appointment slips (from the state website), and he wrote our appointment numbers on the window of my car (in either sharpie or wax pencil). We briefly waited in another line, as two registrars sitting under portable heaters that are so common on chilly winter nights in Arizona (normally you'd encounter them at restaurants.) They checked our identification and entered our names into the system, as well as asked about our health. From there we were directed around more cones into traffic lanes, leading up to where the vaccinations were delivered. Again, after a brief wait, and more checking our registration--confirming our appointment numbers (written on the windows) and names--we entered a tent. Two nurses briefed us on the vaccine and delivered our shots. They directed us to a waiting area, where we were asked to wait 15 minutes in case of an adverse reaction. And, voila, it was over--in under an hour.
• 
  2021-02-05

  Reducing Jail Sentences for Inmates with Preexisting Health Conditions

  The study conducted by the Brennan Center for Justice (BCJ) found that prisons, jails, and detention facilities are rushing to make an effort to release unnecessarily incarcerated people to improve healthcare and conditions of confinement for the remaining inmate population. As part of a larger project to end mass incarceration, the BCJ analyzed the unique health challenges posed by the inmate population both 65 and older, as well as those with preexisting medical conditions. "Brennan Center Recommendation: Elderly and sick people and those incarcerated for parole violations should be released or recommended for release under compassionate release provisions or another authority. Barring that, prison officials should use their discretion to transfer people to community corrections options."
• 
  2021-02-04

  US Rep. Yvette Harrell seeks to spare NM from Biden's ban on oil and gas leases

  This article from Carlsbad Current Argus reporter Adrian Hedden explains NM District 2 Congressional Representative Harrell's efforts to preserve the oil-and-gas driven economy in New Mexico. The oil and gas lease referenced here applies to federal lands, and the ban of new lease issuance impacts existing operations. Much of southeastern New Mexico is federally owned, while nearby Texas is predominantly private land. The effect of this ban, if successful, would merely drive operations a few miles across the state line without largely impacting production from within the Permian Basin; it will, however, destroy the New Mexico economy, approximately 40% of which depends on oil and gas operations within the state. This article and topic are important to me because of my familial ties to New Mexico, but also because it demonstrates the unintended and myopic objectives set forth in this particular executive order. The economic impact of this ban would further exacerbate community and statewide problems related to COVID-19 as homeless has recently spiked in that region, and the disappearing tax base has further inhibited county and state programs and operations.
• 
  2021-02-07

  Eddy County, New Mexico: Comparing The Curve

  These graphs illustrate the to-date experience of COVID-19 infections and known positivity rates for Eddy County (NM), the State of New Mexico, and the United States. This data demonstrates dichotomies in the experiences of that county, the state, and the nation from the beginning of 2020 through February 6, 2021. Such data provides context to discussions and debate on public behavior, public health policy, and executive actions taken within the State and the County. This is important to me because many of my close and extended family members still reside in and around Eddy County, and the infection rates and restrictions they have endured has been especially tough on them and their community.
• 
  2021-02-07

  3 More Vaccine Differences by State Stories

  Shows the differences in individuals included in vaccine phases in different states. It is important because it lets people see the official categories and who should have been when.
• 
  2021-01-28

  State expands access to COVID-19 vaccinations in rural areas

  In Tennessee, the state has announced new partnerships with rural pharmacies to more effectively reach the elderly outside of urban areas. This particular article focuses on East Tennessee and the rural counties surrounding the Knoxville metropolitan area. This is great news to those who do not live in cities as Tennessee is a mostly rural state. For some elderly people, they would potentially have to drive two hours to get to the city to get a vaccine. However, because of this new partnership, it will make it far easier for those in rural areas to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
• 
  2021-02-01

  Decorating the “classroom”

  I LOVE setting up my classroom for the new school year. I take great pride in making my classroom environment welcoming and comfortable. I’ve always felt that having an organized and decorated classroom helps the kids immediately know that you’re committed to them. However, with distance learning, my classroom is the corner of my bedroom. My husband has been working in the office next door since March. My kids have their distance learning set up downstairs, so that left our bedroom or the kids’ rooms. Though at first it seemed really, really strange to teach in the corner of my bedroom, I don’t even think about it anymore. The blank wall behind me though, it was really going to be a problem. I know most people have great success with Zoom backgrounds, but I have a really hard time sitting still, and I learned over the spring that I end up making my arms and head disappear because I fidget and get up and move around too much, so the virtual background just doesn’t work for me. At the very end of July, I went to my classroom for the first (and what would be the only time until November) when it was becoming clear that we might not re-open for in person instruction. When I went to my room to get the materials I needed to plan and digitize my lessons, I grabbed a few of the collage frames that hang in the front of my classroom. I ended up decorating my bedroom wall to emulate what the wall behind my desk at school looks like. It gave some normalcy to an abnormal start. In November, when it sounded like we would be re-opening, I took the pictures back to my classroom and got my room into shape. (That was a stressful day - two masks, a face shield, standing in a room I did not feel safe in and wondering how re-opening could be safe for my kids, and having a huge pit in my stomach knowing that I would not be there if we did re-open, as I had already turned in my paperwork to take a temporary leave if we re-opened). Then the county went into the Purple Tier, and re-opening was postponed. I was relieved, sad, frustrated, excited, a whole mix of contradictory emotions, because the situation was bleak but I was also able to keep teaching. Over Veteran’s Day, since my wall was now blank, I decorated my wall for the holidays. My students even sent me drawings of ornaments they make, sort of a glimmer of when we’re in person and have homeroom door decoration competitions. Winter break came and went and we remained in the Purple Tier, so I decided to redecorate my wall for January with snowflakes that my daughter and I made out of recycled materials. (A LOT of crafting has gone on these last 10 months!) This past weekend, I was startled to realize that this Monday would be the start of February. In a normal year, I make each kid a Valentine. It’s one of those things that is really dorky, but the kids actually love it. I leave a personalized one with a piece of candy on each of their seats. Many of them joke I’m their first or only Valentine. Another little bit of fun lost this year. But I like to stay positive, so I decorated my wall with hearts with their names. It may not be the personalized Valentine I usually make, but it adds some festive fun to our Zoom. I know my days of Distance Learning are coming to an end soon. The good news is our local case rates are declining, but I am anxious. My district is one of the only in the county to opt into the governor’s plan to re-open schools, lured by the promise of money and fearful of declining enrollment. Our neighboring districts have made statements that it is still unsafe and are holding out for teachers to be vaccinated. I am holding out for the same, and am dreading the repercussions that will come with taking a leave. As much as I’d love to cover the wall with shamrocks at the end of this month, I am predicting our schools will re-open by March. If I have my vaccination, I will be there for sure. However, the vaccinations are not rolling out well here, and I fear I will not have access before schools re-open. I think March is going to see me at home, without my students, staring at a blank wall, desperately trying to get a vaccine. But for now, I will find some happiness in the fact that I have already gotten dms and chats from my students joking with me that I am their first Valentine. At least some things can stay the same.
• 
  2020-07-20

  They Survived: Beating COVID-19 After 70

  When Covid-19 cases began making the news in America, the stories were centered around nursing homes, where the population seemed especially susceptible. Day after day more reports of Covid-19 infecting and killing numerous patients and residents within these facilities painted a dire picture. And it is still dire. However, there are individuals who, despite their advanced age, survived Covid-19. This article from the AARP highlights four individuals in their 70s and 80s who suffered through serious cases involving long hospital stays and ventilators that made it through this virus. An interesting aspect of this article is every person interviewed ends their section by chastising people going out to restaurants, bars, and not wearing masks. Though they survived, they used this platform to try and convey the severity of the situation. As an 80-year-old female survivor from New York stated “This is not the flu. This is something that wants to kill you. It saps your strength and makes you feel like you prefer to die. This disease is such an unknown quantity. I cannot understand why anyone would refuse to wear a mask. It's a pandemic!” Hopefully, people reading survivor stories such as these will make people reflect on the choices, they are making for themselves and their communities.
• 
  2021-02-03

  Masks mandatory inside middle and high schools in B.C.

  Masks are now mandatory inside middle and high schools in British Columbia, Canada. Elementary students are currently not required to. Schools are also asking for more money in order to help with improving safety for returning staff. While much of the population is currently wearing masks, the government has been relatively laissez-faire compared to the United States on compliance.
• 2021-02-03

  Vaccinated.

  Last night I got my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine for COVID. I feel like it should have been easier than this. I got my first dose of the vaccine at Chandler-Gilbert Community College, which we found out later was a county-run rather than a state-run location. Cardinals Stadium in Glendale is a state site. So the difference amounted to not getting the email about my second appointment for an anxiety-inducing long time. So when a new block opened up at the stadium, I signed up to get my second shot on the 21st day after my first, at the earliest opportunity. My husband’s appointment for his first dose is two days later. We arrived at the stadium, got my appointment number chalked on the windshield, and wove through a maze of cones and banners toward the check-in tents. When we pulled up, the lady checked my number and couldn’t find me. She searched for my birthday and couldn’t find me. She searched by my name and couldn’t find me. She took my ID and walked off to find a supervisor. I stared at my appointment confirmation email on my phone while she did all of this. The supervisor returns and, after asking to look at my email, handed me a clipboard. “We are going to sign you in as a walk-in, which doesn’t even exist right now. We can’t take walk-in rights right now because it’s possible that people with appointments won’t get their short today because our daily inventory is low.” That’s why my husband was not one of the lucky ones that we have heard stories about who got to get their dose early by coming along with someone who had an appointment sooner than them. I filled out the form, the lady made me a new appointment on her tablet, and the confirmation email for an appointment slot one hour before appeared. We turned the truck back on and moved through the second maze to the next set of tents, where they covered the same questions before sending us under the second tent where a younger man gloved up, came around to the passenger door, and quickly injected me. He must have seen that we were younger as we pulled up, even with our masks on, because he said to me, “Alright, I will give you this if when I do you scream, FUCK COVID,” which of course I agreed to. But if you have had the vaccine yet, you know it goes by so quickly that I barely got out the FU.. before he said, “okay, you’re good to go.” A third maze brought us to the line of cars waiting their 15 minutes to see if they have a bad reaction before pulling out and heading back home. I now had my second dose, and my husband has yet to get his first, so we didn’t need the help of the people milling between cars signing up people for second doses who had just gotten their first. We got to the front of the escape line and then were released, maybe a few minutes before the 15 were really up, but we were off. My COVID card is complete. When I got my first dose, the guidance was that 30 days after your second dose is your true “good to go” date because it has had time to take effect, but in the last three weeks, that has been shortened to two weeks. I don’t know if that is smart or accurate, or if, like everything, people want this to hurry along so things can go back to “normal” after we have been at this for a year. But vaccines are still hard to get, kids can’t get it, and we don’t know how long it will be effective, so maybe we shouldn’t get too excited.
• 
  2021-02-03

  Is COVID-19 vaccine distribution fair and equitable in Arizona?

  Minorities have been hard hit by COVID-19 and some want to ensure that they are receiving the vaccine. However, some states, like Arizona, are not providing that information. It is unclear whether the demographics data isn't being collected or if the information just isn't being released to the public.
• 
  2021-01-29

  New York COVID-19 nursing home deaths may have been undercounted by as much as 50%, attorney general says

  The New York Attorney General says that the official number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes maybe 50% below the actual number. However, the state's Health Commissioner disputes this claim saying that death statistics are determined by the location of death. Therefore, any nursing home resident that dies in the hospital is counted as a hospital death instead of a nursing home death. There has also been an investigation launched against several nursing homes that are sided to have violated COVID-19 protocols.
• 
  2021-01-25

  "The Pandemic Is Finally Softening. Will That Last?" - The Atlantic

  This Atlantic Monthly article, written by Robinson Meyer, details the race to vaccinate millions of Americans in the face of loosening mitigation efforts, new COVID-19 strains, and supply bottlenecks. According to Meyer, with the advent of several COVID-19 vaccines, some states and municipal governments across the country have loosened their quarantine restrictions in the belief that vaccination and lower death rates make lockdowns unnecessary. This is not true, and this loosening of restrictions may precipitate further surges in COVID-19 cases, especially as new strains from the UK and South Africa become endemic. Fewer vaccine doses will be delivered by Pfizer, due to an agreement signed by the Trump administration.
• 2021-01-28

  Vaccine Rollout Confusion

  There is a lot of confusion and frustration for people eligible to get a vaccine right now—getting appointments for both their first and/or second shots. Our county has derived an online account for making covid vaccine appointments. This online platform is apparently not easy to navigate and often changes. This is a serious problem for our eldest citizens who did not grow up with computers and the internet. Many of them will need assistance from younger family members or friends to make appointments. I personally know of a few older people wanting to give up. What happens to people who do not have support systems in place to help them? What happens to people with disabilities? What happens to people who do not have internet access or even a roof over their heads? Perhaps I am worrying too much, and the government has this figured out, but I fear that I am right to worry. The system is disorganized because it is fragmented. The states and counties are all trying to figure it out on their own. People don’t know what to do, where to go, and when. The categories for who is eligible to get the vaccine at what time are also problematic because they are too broad. Therefore, you have people who are young and healthy and at home getting vaccines before our oldest citizens or those with previous health histories that put them at risk. The previous administration left this situation so chaotic that I wonder if this new administration can fix it.
• 
  2021-02-28T10:55

  No shots for you!

  This picture shows what I get when I try to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination through the Arizona Department of Health Services website. I'm basically out of luck for the time being. It is good that a vaccine is available now and the end of the pandemic is in sight, but the process is frustrating. While I understand that our state agency had to develop their website in a short time, they've known for months that vaccines were on the way. Their site is needlessly complex, buggy, and non-informative. I initially got hung up on a page that required me to enter my health insurance information; it took several tries and a few phone calls to figure out exactly what I needed to enter in each of the fields. Once I get through, I can't find an open appointment. There is no indication on the webpage, but it seems that the system returns no open appointments for me because I am not yet eligible. My mother who is more than 75 years old has managed to get an appointment and get her first shot. I'm concerned that many other people, particularly the elderly who need the vaccination more than others, will not get access to them because they will not be able to navigate through the website. I have read a number of media reports about this. It seems like poor planning to set up a process that relies on individuals to use the internet without offering an alternative.
• 2021-01-26

  Statistics of Covid-19

  Currently there are about 25,152,433 confirmed cases of Covid-19. And sadly 419,827 have died due to Covid-19. In California alone there are 3,136,158 cases with 7,937 cases per 100 thousand. There are also a couple new strains of Covid-19 that either spread faster or are more serious. Luckily, there are a few vaccines that are being distributed now. Covid-19 has caused a lot of trouble to many people, and lifestyles have and will change due to Covid-19.
• 2021-01-26

  Covid Statistics

  As of today, 99.9 million people have tested positive for Covid-19... out of those people, 55.2 people have fully recovered, and 2.15 million have died. That means that currently there are 42.65 million people worldwide with Covid-19. Its mind blowing to know people are still refusing to wear a face covering and practice good hygiene. Even if you're not worried about your loved ones, you never know what the person you passed in the grocery store could be going through. In California alone there has been 3.21 million cases reported and 37,999 dead. About 6,000 people are saying goodbye to their innocent loved ones per day in the United States, and approximately 106,715 per day worldwide.
• 2021-01-26

  Covid statistics

  Just today, 15,846 people died from Covid-19. In worldwide total, 2.15 million people have died so far. With 99.9 million people testing positive so far, you never know who will get it next. Currently there are 42.65 million people worldwide contaminated with Covid, a quarter of which are close to death, this is why its important to wear a face covering and keep up good hygiene. Even if your loved ones aren't high risk, you never know what the person you passed in the pasta isle could be going through. Hospitals around the world have had to convert their services to caring for Covid victims alone, leaving medical care scarce for people in need.
• 2021-01-26

  Statistics

  The statistics are pretty complicated but ill explain. The most popular state that has Covid is California (The state I live in) with a whopping 3 million+ cases. The amount of cases per day in California is about 30,000 a day which is actually really sad because we have to do so much stuff to keep us safe more than other states. Since there's so many attractions here, of course a lot of people want to see it and they come and travel.
• 2021-01-26

  Last Thoughts of Covid

  This is what I think is my final entry for the archives. I'll be going into further information about statistics and my personal final thoughts. At the beginning of Covid, I really kept up with what was going, but now I'm more or less just not paying attention. I rely on my mom to give me information which is not the best because frankly I just don't trust the news sites my mom gets her information on. I take her info with a grain of salt. LA county just keeps getting worse and worse every day. On 1/26/2021 we have 3.21 million cases and 37,499 deaths. This isn't even all of California, its just one county. Looking at the chart cases have been more down from December. During December it just spiked way up. I wonder if we'll be even able to go on our 8th-grade east coast trip or go back for freshman year. It seems like this will never end and honestly, I've just kinda gotten used to it. Masks are a pain but they can also be helpful sometimes for other things than keeping you and others safe. These are my final thoughts, not a lot, I've just learned to accept it.
• 0021-01-26

  Covid Affects

  At the start of Covid, I wasn't worried about the numbers. But after a few weeks, I saw the death toll and how this will result in a lockdown. My area which is in Ventura County didn't mind this virus and we all just carried on. But a huge outbreak started. We were not allowed to go to the beach and other places. This affected me a lot because I was already staying home for school, but when I wasn't allowed to go anywhere else, it really hit me hard. The outbreak died down but it was still pretty bad. I was worried about my grandparents. To me, Covid was a key that is locking me into a room that I can't leave. Living through this pandemic made me think about all the things I took for granted.
• 2021-01-26

  Statistics with COVID

  Living in California during the pandemic was a struggle. With how big the population is and the governor, the entire thing was a mess. First off corona itself took over California with how greatly populated the state was but, our current governor used statistics in a way to shut the state down not in the right way and could not prove what science he was using to shut the state down so, he has to open up the state again since he could not prove any of his statistics.
• 
  2021-01-25

  Vaccine Localism Defines Who Belongs

  This article says the NH state government has changed its policy to define NH residents for vaccine purposes as NOT including second home owners, non-resident landlords, and other non-full-time residents. This matches policy in Vermont and Maine, both of which have cited vaccine scarcity as a reason to prioritize their own full-time residents (and presumably voters). Who "belongs" has been a hot question in New Hampshire since long before the Coronavirus emerged, but Covid-19 has emphasized existing fault lines. Lots of people with second homes moved more full-time to New Hampshire starting in March 2020, escaping areas with higher infection rates but being perceived as virus vectors by locals, particularly in areas that usually only see tourists in the summer. Vaccine scarcity has created an us against them mentality. NH is prioritizing those most at risk of death - which means those in nursing homes and congregate care facilities (did anyone know that word prior to coronavirus?) and first responders, but in the state with the 4th largest elderly population, that leaves a lot of people over 65 and living at home as second in line. The Governor had already put ski patrol in the list of first responders (so ski areas could open), so letting second home owners get vaccinated seemed to again prioritize those with more money over those more at risk. Little of any of this affects me directly - I'm already in a lower vaccine category due to being younger and healthier than the state average. But in a state where 21 years residence still marks you as an outsider since your family is not from NH, the increased "localism" feels potentially dangerous. While prioritizing full-time residents make sense to me, what will be the next line drawn and will I be okay with that one? How do existing biases in NH affect our vision of "who belongs"?
• 2021-01-24

  Community Members in AZ Getting the Vaccine

  97-year-old Alexander White, a Holocaust survivor, got a vaccine with a push from Arizona lawmakers.
• 2021-01-25

  Statistics and Thoughts

  I find that many people are comparing California to other states and freaking out because California has the most cases and deaths, but that is to be expected. People don't take into account the fact that California has the largest population out of all the other states. Recently, there has been a large spike, but that is because of the fact that it is winter. It is colder, so people are gathering inside more, and the sun isn't as direct, so COVID-19 is spreading more. But when spring comes, the spike will go down. In fact, the spike is already beginning to drop, and once next winter comes around, people will have been vaccinated and more people will have gotten it, and things will hopefully get better and restrictions will go away.
• 
  2021-01-24

  Vaccinating for Classes

  Over the past year, many college classes have been held online with limited in-person attendance. The goal for Universities is that with enough students vaccinated by the Fall 2021 semester they will be able to restart in-person operations. According to the Boston Globe Universities in Massachusetts are focused on determining who under their umbrella is eligible for vaccination. When discussing the Vaccine Dr. Fauci stated that getting students back into in-person classes is a priority. For college students returning to in-person classes is a top priority as college is meant to be an experience and many students are feeling as though they’re missing out and receiving a lower quality of education. The vaccine seems to be the only way that students will be able to return to in-person classes. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/21/metro/with-vaccines-horizon-most-colleges-are-back-line-get-them/ https://edsource.org/2020/fauci-puts-priority-on-getting-teachers-vaccinated-and-a-return-to-in-person-classes/645499
• 
  2021-01-24

  Students Accessing the Vaccine

  College students have been left out of many of the COVID relief efforts such as the stimulus payments. And now due to their status as healthy and young adults, many of them are now at the back of the line for receiving the COVID vaccine. An estimate reported by best colleges states that college students can expect to get the vaccine in April with the rest of the general population. North Carolina initially planned to prioritize college students but has now recently revised its plan so that this is no longer the case. For college students, the COVID process can be incredibly frustrating as they exist in an economically precarious place, as they are going to school and in many instances unable to work full time or worked service jobs that do not exist under COVID conditions. Vaccine access seems to be another area in which college students are disadvantaged due to their status and age. https://www.bestcolleges.com/blog/when-college-students-will-receive-covid19-vaccine/#:~:text=Most%20college%20students%20will%20wait,outstripped%20supply%20in%20many%20areas. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/north-carolina/articles/2021-01-14/nc-to-vaccinate-those-65-college-students-not-prioritized
• 2021-01-24

  A Story of the Pfizer Vaccine

  97-year-old Alexander White, a Holocaust survivor, got a vaccine with a push from Arizona lawmakers.
• 
  2021-01-24

  Anxiety, confusion remain over COVID-19 vaccine rollout at mass vaccination site at CCSF

  This article discusses the confusion over how vaccines are being rolled out to eligible individuals in San Francisco. A vaccination site is allowing individuals to get vaccinated without an appointment if there are extra doses at the end of the day. However, while texts are being sent out to let people know they are eligible, without an appointment there is no guarantee they will receive a vaccine if they go to the site; this is leading to people arriving, hoping to receive one of the leftover doses, only to be turned away. This is just one example of how confusion and misinformation about the vaccine is leading to anxiety and disappointment, and a desperate sense of hope that the kinks will be worked out soon so that the vaccination process will improve.
• 
  2021-01-07

  HERMIT HERALD VOL 1 ISSUE 90

  Charge on Capitol
• 2021-01-19

  Procedures

  The worst procedure is social distancing. Social distancing at the start of the pandemic was a pain not ever being able to see my friends sucked. The other procedure is masked nobody like wearing mask especially for sports, when your running and panting and have that feeling of will they yell at me if I take the mask off. In conclusions these procedures hit hard.
• 2021-01-19

  My feelings on the rules and procedures that we have to take.

  I think the rules and procedures we have to take to be safe during this pandemic are reasonable and fair. I think this because everyone wants to be safe and healthy especially doctors so when many doctors are telling us specific things to follow i'm going to think about why this i benefiting me and keeping me safe. Like wearing a mask, people say they don't work but doctor's on the other hand say they are very useful and will protect you from the virus that is in fact airborne. Staying six feet this is another big one, this distance is the correct and closest distance you can be from someone without picking up any viruses. These are the two biggest rules and procedures that I think we should follow and that work.
• 2021-01-19

  Covid Rules

  There have been many tedious rules placed upon everyone during these times. Although I don't enjoy most of them, I am eternally grateful for each of them. Yes, wearing masks is not ideal, however if it gives us a better chance of staying healthy then I will gladly wear one. I am especially grateful that they are not optional. Because I know a great deal of people would choose to rid of these slight inconveniences even if it meant putting others' health and possibly lives at risk. I am happy that the government isn't just letting people do whatever they want and it putting some rules in place that handle both those who are competent and incompetent in caring for the community.
• 2021-01-19

  COVID lockdown rules

  The stupid COVID rules that have been put in place are not worth following, this virus has a 99.9% recover rate for anyone in between 4-50 and we have to shut the whole country down. I live in California which is democrat run so we have to be on red alert like this virus is a threat to all humanity. It’s stupid and it always has been. I wish I lived in Florida at this point because I can play sports there and live life. But no, I have to comply to California’s socialist communist ideology’s.
• 2021-01-19

  The Rules That Did Make Sense and the Many That Didn't

  There were a lot of rules and regulations that we had to follow to stop the spread of COVID. Most of them were simple and made sense. Others, didn't... The rules that made sense were simple. Wear a mask; wash your hands often; stay six feet away from others; don't gather in large groups. The rules that had to do with which businesses were allowed to be open, seemed a bit arbitrary... For example, restaurants could open, but bars couldn't unless they served full meals. Retail stores could open with a limited number of customers allowed in at one time, but zoos couldn't. It was perfectly fine for you to wait with 10+ other people outside of a store, but to go to a zoo which was also outdoors apparently meant certain death. The rules that annoyed me the most were the ones regarding school closures. In California, it had been made practically impossible for schools to open. The worst part was that my school was in LA County, by 500 feet! I remember that in April, I went to Carpenteria with my dad and one of his friends. My friend was there too and we were standing about 4 feet apart without masks on. A lifeguard came up to us and started to get kind of mad. The strange thing was that the sign in the parking lot said, "No lifeguard on duty." Overall, the regulations weren't to bad for me, but I was to annoyed with our governor killing small businesses to remember that.
• 2021-01-19

  the rules of covid

  I never liked the idea of wearing masks. Everyone would give you dirty looks if you didn't. I still didn't care, if i was to get covid then so be it! Then eventually it was a mandate. To be honest, The covid virus was the least of my concerns. I really am not worried about the virus, and personally hate all the mandates.
• 
  2021-01-07

  Tempers flare as Congress rejects objections to Pennsylvania electoral votes

  Excerpt from article: WASHINGTON -- Objections to Pennsylvania's electoral votes failed in Congress on Thursday as tempers flared during an early morning debate. Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri objected to the counting of Pennsylvania's electoral votes, triggering up to two hours of debate in the House and Senate.
• 
  2021-01-15

  Keena Covid Vaccine

  My name is Morgan Keena, I live in Nampa, Idaho, I am a 7th-grade social studies teacher, and I got my first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine today! Teachers weren't scheduled to start receiving the vaccine in Idaho until late February or early March. However, on January 11, 2021, our state superintendent of education delivered a speech to the Idaho legislature urging them to pass a law that would require all school districts to stay open unless mandated by the governor. Additionally, she urged that all students return to in-person learning full time as quickly as possible. On Tuesday, January 12, 2021, the governor of Idaho, Brad Little, announced via a press conference that K-12 teachers and staff were moved to the top tier and could start receiving the vaccine on January 13, 2021. This came as a huge shock to educators everywhere, but we know it is tied to the demand to have schools 100% in person. My school district, Nampa School District, then took on the momentous task of figuring out how to obtain vaccines for their nearly 1,000 staff members. Less than 36 hours later, they had secured vaccines for us at three major health systems and two smaller urgent care locations. The district also had one health system offering the vaccine on Saturdays and Sundays to better work with the teacher schedules. We managed to crash the portals of two health systems by overwhelming them with many vaccine sign-ups. I (by a miracle) was able to secure an appointment for January 15, 2021. Let me tell you; I have never been so excited to get a shot in my life. I received my vaccine from St. Luke's Health System in Nampa, Idaho. The check-in process was a breeze and done entirely on my own. I was very relaxed while waiting for my appointment but also exceptionally eager to get back to my room and get this first dose done. Once my name was called, I met with the pharmacist who would be administering my vaccine. She was a lovely woman, and I consider myself fortunate to have met her. She was such a calming presence as she explained the emergency use authorization for the vaccine, potential side effects, and what I could expect in the days after receiving this dose. She continued to use the line, "when I got my first dose...." which made me feel at ease. We talked about my job, her children, and how this school year has been wild. Suddenly, it was over! I had my vaccine and was ready to take on the world! Almost. After a couple of cases of allergic reactions to the vaccine around the country, they now require you to wait in the waiting room for 15 minutes after receiving each dose. I received the Pfizer vaccine and have scheduled my second dose for three weeks from today. As I was doing my time in the waiting room after my injection, I signed up for a program called V-Safe. V-Safe is run by the CDC and is used to track vaccines' side effects. Since this vaccine has emergency authorization, they are still collecting side effect data. since I signed up, they will message me once a day for the next week to do a quick wellness check. After the initial week, they will message me once per week to continue keeping up with any side effects I may encounter. I figure it's the least I can do to help science. I am super excited about receiving the first dose of this vaccine. My husband also received it today, and we are overjoyed by that. He is a third-year medical student rotating through various hospitals, so getting him a vaccine was a priority of ours, but it proved to be more difficult to obtain than we had thought. He received the Moderna vaccine, so we get to see how both vaccines work. I received the vaccine because I expect our school board to bring back middle school students 100% in-person and full time soon. Social distancing will not exist in the classroom, and I will be exposed to 150 students in my classroom and the other 150 students in my wing of the school. This is a good day for science. I feel excited and hopeful. I feel like I have hit the 'covid wall' lately, and I am just ready to be done with this.
• 
  2020-12-25

  The Blessings and Curse of My First COVID Christmas

  The Blessings and the Curse of My First COVID Christmas By James Rayroux For the sake of relative brevity, the story of my first COVID Christmas actually began in October even though its events first took root in March, just as is the case for most all of us, I imagine. I’m what you might call a professional investigator. Considering the years of training and practice that led to my thousands of successful interviews and interrogations, I’ve more than earned the burden and blustering lack of prestige the title actually carries. In the fall of 2020, I worked as a government contractor, and I specialized in COVID medical investigations. Not the laboratory kind, although that’s well within the reach of my background. I worked on the patient side of things. The County wants us to keep referring to them as ‘cases,’ not ‘patients.’ Apparently, ‘patient’ infers a medical relationship that allows and demands we provide medical advice and counsel. I wonder what they think on the other end of the phone from us...are they a patient in need of accurate information, compassion, and sympathy; a human with needs, fears, questions, concerns, and families; or are they a mere ‘case’ with signs and symptoms of ailments to be questioned, interrogated, and subconsciously blamed for having acquired their illness in the first place? If they’d only done all the things our government minders had asked, mandated, and demanded, we might not have had need of this conversation at all... I digress. Although I’m not a frontline healthcare worker reporting to shift at a hospital, clinic, or testing site, COVID has consumed most of my waking hours since July. I hear it on the news, I get paid at least forty hours each week to talk, laugh, and cry about it, and then I discuss it with my family at night while we hear it on the news again. Now you’ve got most of the background. I hadn’t seen my grandparents since February 1, 2020. Most of our extended family had planned an elaborate beach vacation for late April that you already know was cancelled before reading these words. We all kept our respective distance from each other, didn’t go out of town or out of state to visit each other. Talked on the phone, an occasional FaceTime, but that’s it. My grandparents respectively turned 85 (x2), 89, and 92 this year. Two of them went on hospice in the spring, one remains on daily hospice care now. Given their frail condition and the unknown and distant end to the COVID pandemic, we collectively decided I needed to make a trip to see them, so we put a responsible plan in place based on then-current guidance from public health officials. I quarantined at home before I left to ensure I didn’t bring anything with me. I stopped once for gas, used the stupid mask and medical gloves at the fuel pump, discarded them immediately, and sanitized my hands upon returning to the truck. I hate hand sanitizer now, far more than it deserves to be hated by anyone. I scheduled my time away to allow me to see the more fragile set of grandparents first. I stayed with my family, saw no one outside the normal circle that envelops those grandparents, and ensured I didn’t introduce any foreign bodies to their existence beyond myself. The day I packed up to depart to see my second set of grandparents, I got a call that one of our family might have been exposed at work. He felt fine, but his partner couldn’t smell or taste. Monkey Wrench Number 1. I extended my trip two weeks to allow for the then-recommended exposure quarantine to run its course. The possible became real when two of my family fell ill. The rest of us woke each morning and waited for our signs and symptoms to begin. My wife and I had planned on me being back home on Thanksgiving, but I would now, at best, be over to stay with Grandparents #2 on Thanksgiving Day. I should explain here that although my wife also works from home and has tremendous flexibility in her schedule, we moved her parents in with us about two years ago. COVID has further complicated that relationship and our respective reality due to their advancing age, physical decline, and pre-existing conditions. Like too many folks, we live with the constant anxiety that their contraction of COVID will lead to their imminent and virtually guaranteed death, despite ALL the data and our personal experiences that clearly demonstrate otherwise. She feared coming with me because it would mean leaving her folks behind to care for themselves if they got sick while we were away, and also meant she would have to quarantine from them for two weeks after our return. Thus, no Thanksgiving with her folks. Now you’re caught back up. So, I made it to Thanksgiving Day with no symptoms, no illness, and a general sense that all was as well as it could be. I had again packed the truck and prepared to go on to the next house, and my cell rang at about 8am. My cousin told me Grandad wasn’t feeling well. High temp of about 103-104. General malaise. Nausea. Fuck. Monkey Wrench Number Two. We agreed they would call his general practitioner and cardiologist to seek their guidance, and I was on the way. I hadn’t yet had COVID to that point, but if my grandparents had contracted it, they would not be able to care for themselves or each other. I didn’t have fear of enduring the illness myself, I had only ever worried about bringing it to them. That particular concern no longer held water. I visited three stores around town to gather all the generally recommended OTC meds, supplements, and vitamin packs that I thought three people might consume in two weeks, along with a new thermometer, and I landed at the home of Grandparents #2 just before noon. Grandad felt fine. Normal temp. No explanation of what the morning’s signs and symptoms had been. Hell, he’s 85 and mentally sharp as a tack, so you have to expect some physical cost for those benefits. With the crisis seemingly averted, we cautiously went about limiting their access to the outside world for a few days. Aside from Grandad’s normal physical limitations, all seemed normal, and that reality demanded its own action plan. Having not seem them in action for ten months, his feebleness struck me right in the heart. He’s about my size and my Grandmother’s half of him, and I had trouble helping him at times. She couldn’t do this on her. Not only that, but she shouldn’t have been caring for him on her own for probably most of that year. She needed help, and he needed to recover some of his dignity. After speaking with the nurses in our family and a couple trusted confidants, I called Hospice and set an appointment for them to evaluate him and his needs. A brief aside for the uninitiated: while Hospice is designed and statutorily enabled to assist folks in the last potential six months of their life, patients may be on Hospice care for much longer than that, or for as many times as needed. Those Hospice Nurses deserve all the accolades we may provide, and they absolutely deserve the Capitalized Titles. God Bless Them. Despite my familiarity with Hospice, hearing my Grandad’s new nurse confirm his conditions likely indicated he had fallen within the Last Six Months struck me. Hard. I only ever saw him cry once, when we surprised them for their joint 80th birthday party. They unexpectedly walked into a room filled with friends and family ready to celebrate with them, and he hid behind my petite grandmother for a moment to stifle his tears. Being my father’s son, I have no such trouble crying. I just didn’t want him to see me cry for him. We all spoke after the Nurse left, and we got some other things set in motion to help care for their daily needs. Having now been at their home for a week, which had been the original plan back from October, I talked to my grandparents about leaving. Are they going to be okay if I go? Do they need me to stay? Do my cousins want me to hang around for another week to help supplement the transition into professional in-home care? We all agreed I was welcome, but technically unneeded. I should go home and see my wife, whom they adore. I had already been gone from home for a month. That was Wednesday, December 2, 2020. I drove home on Thursday, December 3, and this is as good a time as any to say I didn’t feel 100%. For clarity, I’m telling you a few things out of chronological order here. My symptoms began on Saturday, November 28, with a weird diarrhea that lasted for a few hours in the morning. I don’t usually have GI troubles, but with no other signs of illness, I thought it was food, or the stress of waiting for my Grandparents to show COVID signs and symptoms. For the next week, I had very mild cold/allergy symptoms. Some sinus congestion, a little tightness in my chest. All consistent with my normal experiences this time of year, and all so mild to not have been worth mentioning. However, it’s critical at this juncture in the timeline. Grandad went downhill two days after I left. My mom and sister had arrived the day before to visit for the weekend, and the updates grew grim. Hospice came in on Saturday, December 5, and made substantial changes and improvements to the house. My wife and I began discussing when we would return, how long we would stay, how we would check off all the logistical needs boxes for us and our little household. The COVID test I had scheduled for Monday morning fell through; the testing site had insufficient staff to administer it, and they had cancelled all the appointments for the day... “You should have gotten an email...” My mom called a few hours later, on Monday evening, with ominous news: come now, he won’t be here much longer. My aunt departed from her house and agreed to pick me up in two hours so neither of us fell asleep driving. In the meantime, for my own conscience, I went to a local ED, explained my symptoms and imminent travel to say goodbye to my Grandad, they administered and processed a COVID polymerase-chain-reaction test. Positive. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Monkey Wrench Number Three. At that moment, I was on Day 9 of the symptoms, at worst Day 7. Recommendations at the time demanded isolation for ten days once signs and symptoms appeared, and wait until your condition is generally improving and you’ve gone at least twenty-four hours without a fever. Never had a fever, and my ailment never grew to be more than a nuisance. However, I had to wait at least a day, and three days would be better. I couldn’t confidently say my COVID started on the 28th or the 30th. Safer for all around me to say the 30th. Another phone call changed my life at 8am the next morning. Grandad passed on at home, surrounded by family, just after 7:30. Mortality had claimed one of my two lifelong mentors, and the most perpetually positive male role model I had in this life. The following days of isolation and despair are the darkest and loneliest I’ve ever known. I waited until Friday, December 11, to travel back and commemorate my Grandad’s life. By the time I arrived, he had moved from his customary chair at the head of the kitchen table to an urn on top of it. I learned the crematorium doesn’t remove the clothes before lighting the fire. Who knew? Over the following few days, our family celebrated his life, and thanked God for his role in ours. My aunt, uncle, and I hung around to help my Grandmother tie up his affairs and transition to an empty nest. Aside from the odd nightshift, she hasn’t slept alone since he returned from his Army base in Germany in 1961. I had planned to stay two weeks and go home on Christmas Eve. At 5am on Saturday, December 19th, my uncle woke me up: he started feeling flu symptoms overnight, and he had to leave before he got anyone else sick. He has a substantially suppressed immune system, and his rheumatologist had convinced him that COVID would kill him, FYI. Some things are worth the risk until they aren’t. Fuck. Monkey Wrench Number Four. This seems like a good time to note the prevailing guidance around COVID transmission as of December 2020. Public health officials had proclaimed the virus could become contagious two days before the patient (not the case, the patient) exhibited any signs or symptoms of illness. Also, I might as well fill you in that my uncle had infrequent, wet coughs for several days at that point, but nothing else that would have indicated a significant illness. Thus, at 5am that morning, we had to consider my uncle might have become contagious to my Grandmother on the 14th. Over coffee that morning, my Grandmother and I looked closely at the calendar, considered then-present guidance, and decided she needed to stay in quarantine until December 29th. The guidance at that moment (which had changed since the beginning of this tale) was to quarantine for seven days with a negative PCR test administered on Day 5-7, or to quarantine for ten days with no test and no signs or symptoms. At that time, test results took more than five days to get back, so the early release wasn’t an option. I committed to staying until New Year’s Eve, assuming she never fell ill. With that change in plans and circumstances, my wife and I prepared for separate and relatively isolated Christmases apart. The family had decided back in October not to exchange gifts that year because of all the other stress that had befallen each of our households, so, the week of Christmas, my Grandmother’s tree had not a single gift under it. My Grandad passed before buying her anything, so my wife and I found a few items we hoped might make her feel warm and hugged when we couldn’t be there with her. My wife has an incredible fondness for “woobie” sweaters, and we found one in my Grandmother’s size and color. It’s what she’s wearing in the attached photograph. She had lived in such a mental fog up to that point that she hadn’t even noticed the packages I’d wrapped and put under the tree. I didn’t hide them, but, in all fairness, I didn’t set them front-and-center, either. I’m forever grateful she had a few things to open that morning, and that she might find some small comfort in them. One of my cousins had already had COVID run through their house in the past few months, and I moved my Grandmother’s quarantine across town for breakfast. That’s where the picture was taken, with beloved family and a brightness none of us had otherwise felt for a few weeks at that point. That morning became the first sense I had of something normal returning to our lives. I made my wife’s infamous cream cheese-mushroom quiche, and my cousins added traditional American breakfast items: sausage, bacon, toast, potatoes, scrambled eggs, fruit juices. I later added rum to a tropical juice blend. Delicious. You might notice the stocking she’s holding in the photograph, and stockings are a big deal in my household. My wife and I love them, and they’re a big part of our personal Christmas traditions. On Christmas Eve, I found out my Grandmother didn’t have a stocking made up for her, but I managed to find everything I needed without her finding out about it. My favorite part of that was the Sock Monkey, which I imagined she would just think was cute, but she laughed when she pulled it from the stocking. My Grandmother explained her mother used to make stuffed monkeys for my Grandmother and her siblings from my great-grandfather’s worn-out tube socks. Having grown up on a rural farm in the Great Depression, every material item had to have at least two lives, and old socks didn’t get a pass. The New Sock Monkey became her newest Christmas ornament, however, and I already look forward to helping her hang it later this year. I had bought and prepared a bone-in rib roast for us that night, and another cousin (fellow COVID survivor) came over with her two kids to enjoy Christmas dinner with us at my Grandmother’s home. No one had yet sat in my Grandad’s customary chair at the head of the table. Someone eventually will, and they may have already, but I’ve yet to see or hear about it. My grandmother said she still feels him in their house, but I haven’t, not since I said goodbye, fully expecting to see him again in a few months, as planned. I saw apprehension on his face as I left, and I ignored it. I chose to believe what I hoped. The 29th came with some fanfare and a drive out of town just to celebrate her release from quarantine. We revisited a recent conversation, and she assured me she was ready-enough for me to go home; she didn’t want me to leave or need me to leave, but she didn’t truly need me to stay, either. In her kindness, she asked me to go home and take care of my wife. On the 31st, my cousins helped take down her Christmas tree and decorations, and we all said a tearful goodbye. When I left their home the first time, just four weeks earlier, my Grandad and I had promised to see each other soon; my Grandmother assured me on New Year’s Eve that she’d hold up her end of the bargain. In about two weeks, I’ll get to hug her neck again, and I’m ever so ready to do so. For all the misery, suffering, and omnipresent anxiety COVID has brought to our society, my infection was an incredible blessing, all things considered. I have no idea from whom I contracted the illness, as no one around me was ill during the timeframe that I could have contracted it. More importantly, NO ONE around me fell ill after I showed signs and symptoms. Not a single person in my life contracted my COVID infection, not my 85-year-old grandparents, not my aging and infirm in-laws, not my wife. No. One. My experience proved to be excessively mild, given the possibilities, and the eventual immunity allowed me to ensure my Grandmother didn’t have to quarantine alone so soon after her husband’s death AND that none of my other family had to risk infection to stay with her. She wasn’t alone on Christmas. I will remain forever grateful for the blessings that managed to weave themselves throughout this experience. Their presence didn’t transpire through mere coincidence, especially not for so many to have appeared in one life and in so short a timeframe. That’s not how probability, chance, or statistical evolution work. With my recent positive COVID antibody test, this also means I can begin volunteering outside my home again, and that I can donate convalescent plasma about once a week. It’s a small thing, but I’m sure it will make all the difference for someone who needs just a little help.
• 2019-12-09

  Why Skiing Won't Work in a Pandemic

  WHY SKIING WON"T WORK Dear Director Silver Thread Public Health (Mineral County, Colorado), I've had a few days to mull over the response made to my comments to the commissioners earlier in the-week regarding the ranking of Mineral County on the Colorado COVID 19 Dial and dashboard. Though I am not a resident of Mineral County I do spend the better part of my day in the county some 150 days a year, forgive me for commenting again, but I feel duty bound that someone goes on the record in hopes that a different viewpoint might have influence, even if in the back of the mind of the county's decision making as the pandemic progresses. I see some flaws in the reasoning given for gerrymandering Dial levels, rather than using them as they are described: Nowhere on the state’s Dial web pages is the decision process STH is using described or encouraged as its proper use. To say it is for guidelines mostly and not necessarily classification misrepresents the public’s perception and use of the dial. Changing classification to a county’s preferred level interferes with individual and the public’s crucial health options and choices. There is an assumption in the explanation that because Mineral County is a small town that somehow the numbers of incidents per 100,000 would be treated differently. Is the known math of the virus and its tendency for spread somehow fortuitously different here than the rest of the planet? I think not. 1.7 deaths per 100 cases works for COVID whether there are 700 people present or 7,000 people present. Rates per 100, 000 are employed exactly to gauge the seriousness of outbreaks regardless of the size of communities. Dangerous spread in sparsely populated states made up of mostly small towns disapproves Creede’s desire for s special dispensation from the disease. The explanation of ad hoc policies and improvised rankings and guidelines fall on the premise of a Public Health expert’s interpretation of “social responsibility,” an expert completely without the means to accurately monitor or enforce “social responsibility.” Social Responsibility, by the way, is also the governor’s preferred preventative and even his office has acknowledged that it has not worked. As illogical as it is that the smallness Mineral County somehow protects it from the realities of a deadly virus that obeys its own rules (and we know its rules well) no matter where it is transmitting, the wishful thinking that a small town knows best how to make its own rules defies even the remnants of reason when the policies disregard that the county includes a resort where thousands of people have and are gathering. Even if ranking and guidelines (at the time of my comment or now) were helpful per the improvised policies of STH relative to Creede, if that logic holds, the ranking and policies for small Creede certainly could not logically also be applied to Wolf Creek Ski Area, which was and is gets visited by thousands of people per day packed into parking lots in an area about the same area as Creede and at much higher density of people per square foot. Many of the ski areas visitors have come from far flung states with high infection rates, and most are from cities where small town “social responsibility” is often something very different than enjoyed in Creede. (I’ve seen plates from over 20 different states and from literally every corner of the county.) Small town or other norms of “social responsibility” also does not describe the atmosphere or the intent of a ski resort. It’s a vacationland where, in part, people travel a long way to take a break from their normal “social responsibility.” Indeed there is a strong element of maverick independence associated with the sports of snowboarding and skiing--including the apres socializing associated; It’s a place where, expectedly, we are allowed to break the rules a little, or a lot. Even within the community, if the Dial is not accurate, it can be intentionally or unintentionally misused by leadership in organizations and businesses that have to make decisions about gathering. Not everyone understands the elaborate process described in the thinking of STH; even a reader of it might not be helped by its crafting. Some individuals and leaders predisposed to attitudes resistant to the realities of COVID 19 will inevitably use lower ranking to justify their own personal and organizational loopholes. Employers of that bent may use the misinformed ranking or juggled guidelines as leverage over employees who would otherwise be best protected by accurate “Level” and guidelines that adhere to the Dial’s published parameters. Fiddling with the COVID Dial on a county level also ignores what public health experts are saying about the current dangers of the disease and models (which have, so far turned out to be pretty darn true) forecasting a debacle this winter, for everyone, including small towns. Fatalists and skeptics of the virus are using today to deny what we know is going to happen in a near tomorrow. Those tomorrows could be better or worse depending on what is done now. Fiddling for little windows of “freedom” will enable the most likely to spread among us to spread, and delays or manipulations of accuracy will cost lives, lives that in a small town count very, very much to all of us. The danger of taking liberties with vital Public Health information by debating the application and inventively blending the facets of a Dial Level leans towards a see-saw of levels, downgrading too soon too much and upgrading too late too little. I sincerely hope that Mineral County will make more effort to educate the public and leadership how to understand and use the dial instead of explaining (or not publicly explaining) the reasons for toying with and complicating it. It might also cut down on your mail, and relieve Mineral County’s health decision makers from the burden of taking on extra potentially egregious extra-personal responsibilities, pressures and culpability for public health outcomes. Used properly, the Dial is a tool that uniformly makes those responsibilities a matter of conferred, collaborative public policy and record rather than an ever shifting discussion inviting undue blame (or undue congratulation) for decisions that might be identified as personal. My prayers are with you as you make these excruciating decisions, and I pledge my personal social responsibility to your efforts. No need to reply. I know you are busy. Sincerely, Wayne Sheldrake South Fork, CO PS I don’t put this all on STH or Mineral. I know adjoining counties are also picking and choosing from the Dial. All the better reason to keep it descriptive rather than interpretive. W. K. Sheldrake (Wayne) is the author of Instant Karma: The Heart and Soul of a Ski Bum, #1 on Outside Magazine Online’s list of “6 Adventure Books We’d Read Again and Again,” and Foreword Magazine’s ‘Gold Medal’ Adventure Book of the Year (2007). He is recording his pandemic experience in a memoir THE19: Confessions of a Mad (American) COVIDodger. He lives in Southern Colorado with his “high risk” wife where there is plenty of wide open space. They do not currently have a dog.
• 0000-01-06

  Covid-19 Christmas

  My Christmas was normal in the sense that we were in a pandemic. My family did follow the rules that governor Newsum sent out. We were only supposed to have 5 family members come over, but at my house in California, we had 11. My parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and my cousin with her husband all came over for Christmas. I live in a big house in California so we were the best house to host at. Me and my mom hate hosting so this year was torture. My chocolate labrador, Dania was very excited to have so many people over. The morning of Christmas was very normal. My grandma and my aunt made cinnamon rolls. Making cinnamon rolls is a tradition on Christmas in my family. I am the youngest in the family so I am in charge of handing out all the presents that were under the tree. In my family, we call that job the Elf. That job was a lot of work for me to do all on my own. After we upon all the presents, I helped make lunch. At night we watched the second Wonder Woman. In the middle of the movie, my uncle's mom died of covid-19.
• 
  2021-01-03

  HERMIT HERALD VOL 1 ISSUE 89

  call for challenging media