Items

• 2021-02-25

  Conditions of Release

  My 80-year old mother got her second vaccine dose on January 25. She is now anxious to get out in the world. She wants to resume doing her own grocery shopping, and she really wants to get her hair done. I half-jokingly told her that the family would have to confer about her "conditions of release" (the kind of term used when people are released from jail or prison). After having just such a conference, we decided that after the second shot had two weeks to become effective, we thought it would be all right for her to start shopping in stores again, under the condition that she of course wore a mask and went out when stores would not be crowded. We advised her not to get her hair done, as that would put her in close proximity to one person indoors for an extended period. Mom was disappointed about that, but accepted the conclusion.
• 
  2021-02-19

  'You just gave me life': Groups help seniors get COVID-19 vaccine appointments

  The elderly of Arizona are having difficulty sign-up for a COVID-19 vaccine. Issues with the state website and difficulty accessing technology seem to be the main causes. The ADHS is working on making the website more functional and is using an appointment hotline to combat the issue. Local groups are also assisting the elderly with making appointments.
• 
  2021-02-21

  Mini Oral History with Carolyn Rayroux

  At 0930 hours on 02-21-2021, I asked my stepmother for her perspective a positive outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 
  2021-02-21

  Mini Oral History with Michele Lebsack

  On 02-21-2021, I sat down with my mother-in-law to ask about the positive experiences she had since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 
  2021-02-12

  After Vaccines, Joy, Relief and Game Night

  As the COVID-19 vaccine rolls-out, nursing and retirement homes across the United States are starting to open up again. In many places, this means dinner, game night, and a select few visitors.
• 
  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.
• 2021-02-17

  Mourning Limbo

  It’s strange, losing someone during this pandemic. We saw grandma on her birthday last month and probably wouldn’t have planned to visit until Easter. Before the pandemic I would have taken her out a couple times a month and other relatives would make sure she had plans other weeks, even if it was just a trip to Walmart or the grocery store. But after nearly a year we had settled into this new normal. So I find myself checking Facebook to see if grandma liked a picture of my cat or picking up the phone to give her a call and then remembering. We haven’t had any sort of memorial, of course. My aunt wants to go to grandma’s favorite beach this summer, assuming we’re all vaccinated (and that seems less likely all the time). I’ve never been to that beach without grandma. Maybe then it will feel real.
• 
  2021-02-11

  Mini Oral History with Tracey Kole, 02/11/2021

  I recorded a mini oral history with my mom about silver linings.
• 
  2021-01-27

  Covid-19 Vaccines Mean an End to Isolation at a Retirement Home

  Retirement home residents have started to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. For many, this means they can visit loved ones in different care units and see family. However, high COVID-19 rates are keeping some retirement and other care homes from letting their residents visit or have visitors.
• 
  2021-02-07

  Jo Ann Richey Oral History, 2021/02/07

  This is an interview with Jo Ann Richey about her COVID-19 vaccination experience in January of 2021. She talks about how pandemic restrictions have affected her work and social life. She also speaks about where and how her vaccine was conducted. She includes personal insight into how she hopes the vaccines may change her life and society as whole in the future. Contributed by Clinton P. Roberts, HSE, for Arizona State University for the #RuralVoices and #VaccineStories collections
• 
  2021-02-04

  Reusing the old ward for coronavirus patients Chiba Cancer Center (February 4, 2021)

  This is a news of using old medical hospital that is not used for COVID-19 patients’ areas because hospitals are being packed with COVID-19 patients. This will definitely help hospitals that are overloaded. However, I am surprised that they have not started this earlier, when japan was hitting the first wave of COVID-19. Personally, Japan does take a lot of time to initiate something like this (MY PERSONAL OPINION) so maybe they had some sort of reason why they didn't do that initially. Video translated by me. Reuse the unused wards for people infected with the new coronavirus. It is the old ward of the Chiba Cancer Center that begins accepting patients. It was not used because a new ward for cancer was opened in October last year. In Chiba prefecture, the prefecture was becoming more overloaded, such as the occupancy rate of corona beds approaching 70%. They we will start accepting elderly people with mild symptoms from the 5th, gradually increase it, and finally accept about 70 people. 使っていない病棟を新型コロナウイルスの感染者のために再利用します。 　患者の受け入れを始めるのは千葉県がんセンターの旧病棟です。 　去年10月に新しい病棟ができたため使われていませんでした。 　千葉県内ではコロナの病床の稼働率が7割近くになるなど医療が逼迫（ひっぱく）していることを受けて、県が準備を進めていました。 　症状が軽い高齢者を中心に5日から受け入れを始め、段階的に増やして最終的に70人ほどを受け入れるということです。
• 2021-02-04

  My Mother Will Be 80 Years Old This Week

  My mother will have her eightieth birthday this Sunday. She is not likely to share her story here. She has a computer and uses the Internet. However, she usually only looks at other people’s posts on Facebook and does not use Twitter at all. I will therefore tell some of her story myself. My mother has been stuck in her house for nearly a year now. She lives only a mile or two from each of us, so my sister and I get her groceries for her so she does not risk exposure to the virus. My mother was resistant to this for a while, from a combination of independence, a disinclination to impose on others, and a plain desire to get out of the house. My mother probably has not gotten a hug from anyone in nearly a year. We call her nearly every day, and we do visit with her on patio, but we always keep our distance. As much as she would like to see people more, she does not want to break social distancing. In her view, she has stuck with it this long and does not want to waste that effort. When I talk to my mother, she often expresses boredom. She reads, works on puzzles, watches television, and calls family (although she does not want to bother people). The other day I half-jokingly suggested that she spend some time writing her memoirs. It would be a gift for her children and grandchildren to record her life experiences. My mother has started writing several pages a day. She writes long-hand in a notepad, then types up what she wrote on her computer. I was amused when she told me this, because I have not written that way in more than thirty years, and younger generations likely could not imagine doing it this way. My mother made one of her rare trips outside the house last week. She was able to navigate the website and get herself an appointment for a COVID vaccination. I was rather proud of her for persistently navigating a website that I found confusing and difficult to use. Her persistence in seeking a vaccination speaks to her eagerness to get life back to normal.
• 
  2021-02-04

  My Grandma's Passing

  Travel restrictions and emotional impact.
• 2021-02-04

  Two generations of silences

  For this journal entry I plan to discuss two important silences that could be occurring in this archive. The first silence is with nursing home or assisted living residents. These are elderly people who may have physical or mental disabilities preventing them from even using a computer let alone navigate the internet to find this website to contribute their story about the pandemic. These people often do not have the skill set for accessing and using the internet, because this tool was invented decades after they were born. Today, I am thinking of my 89-year-old aunt who just recently was diagnosed with covid after being in an assisted living home that had a small outbreak of around seven individuals. She received the first dose of the covid vaccine around two weeks ago, and then a week later was diagnosed with covid but asymptomatic until yesterday when her oxygen levels dropped. She is now at a hospital receiving oxygen and care. A proxy would have to share her story to this archive. Would it then not be a firsthand account? We might never know what she is feeling at this moment in the hospital. Does she even know she has the virus? The second silence is of a group of people who are decades younger than the last generation I just spoke of. Our youngest children are silenced in this archive, too. My youngest is in kindergarten. He has been in online school all year. He is learning about computers and the internet right now, and because he has been online all year, he is learning computer literacy faster perhaps than his peers who are offline and in-person. But does that make his situation any better? No. He is not able to socialize with his friends or make new ones in the classroom setting, and his relationship with his teacher is limited to the screen. It is hard for his teacher to check her kindergartener’s work over the screen and help them with writing etc. Kindergarten, however, is not only about learning the beginnings of academics, but it is mostly about social learning—how to make and keep friends, how to communicate with other people, how to express yourself, how to learn and ask questions, and how to be a student. Sadly, because of the pandemic, he is missing out on so much of what kindergarten really is intended to be. For this archive, he will also need someone to write his experiences with the pandemic for him as he cannot type fluently yet on the computer. He is also learning to express his feelings, so we may never truly know how he felt about his experiences of online kindergarten at this moment in time. He will need his parents to write down their observations for him and contribute it on his behalf. These are challenging times, and it seems some of our oldest and our youngest are being silenced with regard to this archive.
• 2021-02-01

  Vaccine Story

  Introduce yourself, where you live, age, and occupation Randall McNerlin, 73, of Phoenix Arizona. Retired airline pilot. · How did you feel before getting the vaccine Physically, I felt find before getting the vaccine, although I was a little concerned about the possible consequences of getting the virus before I could get vaccinated. I had had numerous instances of close contacts with people not wearing masks. I had always worn a mask in public since the early spread of the virus but still felt exposed on occasion. · You can record the moment you get the vaccine/if you already received it, what do you remember and where were you? The day I got the vaccine, I had received word that there was a walk in line, referred to as aisle four, at the State Farm coliseum. I took my wife and son with me in hopes we could all be vaccinated but we were turned away when I told the admittance guards that I had no appointment. I determined to try again the next day but came alone. I told the guard that I had an appointment but once in line I told the volunteer agents that I was hoping to get in as a stand-by. They offered me the shot and I was very relieved to have started down the path of getting some immunity started. · What vaccine did you get (if you know) Pfizer · How did you feel about getting the vaccine? Grateful to science, grateful to the luck of being where one was available and relieved. · Why did you get the vaccine? I listened to science and logic dictated that the achievement of herd immunity of the public was of paramount importance. I wanted to be part of the solution.
• 2021-02-01

  Are 85-year-olds superhuman?

  Many of the experiences shared in this archive come from younger, more computer savvy participants. But what of octogenarians? Sharing their struggles is important. Perhaps more than any other group, living with COVID carries a different and more existential weight for those in their 80s. My sister and brother-in-law are life-long New Yorkers both 86, still living on the same cavernous Upper West Side apartment they have lived in for the last 50 years. They represent a subset of New Yorkers who are determined to continue living as they have always lived until they die. They still go to work, go to openings, go to the theater, go to lectures, and eat out almost every night. They sit on Boards of Directors and attend galas on a regular basis. They are also incredibly vulnerable health-wise and so set in their ways that getting them to change their way of thinking is impossible. And so we--their families-- have struggled with getting them to appreciate their vulnerabilities. Are we more worried than they are? I wonder if they are more accepting of the inevitability of death as we grow more fearful. All I know is that I cringe every time I hear that my brother-in-law has summoned his enormous car from the parking garage and driven across town to visit a friend, parked in another garage, and then repeated the journey back. Or my sister, who refuses to believe that Instacart exists, wheeling her little cart to the Fairway market, with her mask soaked through with bright red lipstick. It will be interesting to gather and compare the experiences of the very old, to explore COVID through different eyes!
• 2021-01-31

  Volunteering Breaks Hearts

  I volunteered at one of the County’s vaccination clinics last week. The health department ramped up their vaccination schedule, and we saw nearly 50% more traffic than the week prior, which was already 30% above its projections. Many of the folks over 65 (group 1C) here in Tucson are going up to Phoenix to be vaccinated as local health officials are still working their way through the 75+ crowd (Group 1B1). It has been both heartbreaking and frustrating that about a third of the vehicle occupants beg and plead for some special exemption for a family member who’s with them. Despite not yet being entitled to be vaccinated themselves, they hope someone lets them cut in line. Everyone has a special need and a special, unique circumstance that should enable them to jump ahead of their neighbors, and the selfishness of it agitates one of my few prejudices, especially when they don't take the initial 'no' for an answer. The public is so terrified, and many seem to fear they won’t manage to avoid illness in the coming weeks despite having done so for ten months now. It hurts my heart to see their suffering, to hear their fear and anxiety, to have to turn them away, and to know they’re asking for special treatment that might deny the delivery of vaccines to the most vulnerable populations. The hardest part has been, though, the number of elderly folks entitled to be vaccinated who can't navigate the online portal to get an appointment. The current vaccines are stored so cold that we can't deviate from the allotted appointments, but every day brings in elderly people who can't function in a digital world. The county can't spare personnel to offer immediate and realistic registration help to them, and many have complained of waiting on the phone for hours, only to have the county phone line hang up on them. The situation makes me want to find their grandchildren and ask why they don't give a damn about helping their grandparents. I also found out last night our organization's portion of the operation is winding down, and I do not expect to again be able to help facilitate vaccinations in my community. With time and eventual immunization, I hope to find other ways to serve my neighbors.
• 2021-01-31

  Suffering and Loss

  I work as an investigations contractor assigned to assist my county health department with interviewing positive covid-19 patients. I recently spoke with an 85-year-old C19 patient who was hospitalized and awaiting surgery for a brain bleed at the time of our conversation. She explained that she had fallen in her backyard trying to retrieve her feral cat's bed from a rainstorm, tripped, and laid in the rain for almost two hours before anyone found her. Both she and her late husband contracted covid-19 around Christmas, and he died soon thereafter. The hospital where he received his final treatments allowed her to visit him just before he passed, which is an unusual and gracious blessing at this time. The medical interview that normally takes 30 minutes required almost two hours and tears from both of us. When we finished, I wished her well, offered that I looked forward to speaking with her soon, and asked God to bless her. I called her hospital gift shop and ordered a carved wooden angel to be delivered to her room, as she’s a woman of faith. I had the card signed from me and the Health Dept, so I suppose I’ll find out this week if anyone complained about it. More than anything else, I’m hoping her file shows a successful discharge and recovery by now. She told me she looked forward to trading in the cafeteria food for her son's gourmet cooking, and I pray she's already done that.
• 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

  Documents that Explore Vaccine Differences Between States

  It shows the differences in vaccines between states which will be valuable in the future.
• 
  2020-12-31

  They Never Saw the Sun

  For every birthday and Christmas, I get new running shoes. I tell my mom and husband to buy them when they’re on sale, save them, and wrap them up for me. I run A LOT. When quarantine started in March, I took one run outside. Two days later, the CDC confirmed everyone’s worst fears - the virus was airborne. Although running is a low risk activity, where I run, the trails are very narrow. Unfortunately, the people who walk/bike/run there are apparently pretty narrow minded and refuse to wear masks. Could I run outside and not catch COVID? Probably. But with both my husband and I working from home, my +65 mom living with, and a perfectly fine treadmill, that risk just didn’t seem worth it. Man, I miss those trails. But I am lucky to have my treadmill. In July, I pulled out a new pair of running shoes. I honestly didn’t think about how long they’d been tied to the treadmill, I just laced them and put them on like I had done so many times before. One virtual marathon, three virtual 10Ks, and 600+ for fun miles (all on a treadmill) later, it was time to retire my trusty running shoes. On December 31, I announced their retirement with a snarky picture on my Instagram. But what a bizarre pair of shoes to retire. Perfectly clean on the outside, completely destroyed on the inside. The poor things never left the house, they never saw the sun. As a trail runner, my running shoes are always filthy by the time I’m ready to retire them. How strange to retire a pair of shoes that look brand new. How tired they are inside. A symbol of the bizarre year that was 2020.
• 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

  COVID-19 Stats and Story

  Coronavirus happened so quickly. It is difficult to recall details from March 14 2020. The day my family and thousands of others went into quarantine. March 14 2021 is approaching quickly. Back then it seemed like nobody knew anybody who had the virus. It was all rumors and stories. Now it seems like everybody knows or has had Coronavirus. A prediction is that 1 in 3 people in LA county have had Coronavirus, which is totally insane. Los Angeles county has over 10,000,000 residents. Meaning that about 33,333,333+ people have been infected, many without knowing. Although it is an estimate, that shows how serious this virus is. 1000-3000 (about) people in America die due to Coronavirus each day. About 15,000 people die each day worldwide. There have been almost 100,000,000 Coronavirus cases and 2 Million deaths. 1/70 of the world has been diagnosed, not including those who are asymptomatic and those who were not or do not have access to tests. About 2 million people have died. That is 1/50 of those diagnosed. Seeing these numbers shocks me. It opens my eyes and makes me realize how truly important it is the wear a mask and to be safe. My grandpa, I call him Papa, is getting the first dose of his Coronavirus vaccine tomorrow. I am so excited that he will have immunity. There are 11 cases of Coronavirus in his 200 person retirement home. He is 84 years old. I am so glad that Papa will be safe. He was widowed when my grandma, Grammy about 11 years ago, so I believe she had been his guardian angel just as she has been mine. My final thought is that I cannot wait for Coronavirus to be cured and for the vaccine to have wider distribution.
• 2021-02-25

  COVID Statistics

  As of now, there have been roughly 100.17 million COVID cases worldwide. Of those 100 million people that have had COVID, about 2.14 million have died. This means that the death rate of COVID-19 is about 2%. Most people who get the virus have little to no symptoms, and recover quickly. However, the elderly and people with underlying health conditions are more likely to develop complications because of COVID (respiratory tract infection). Luckily, everyone I knew who got COVID were pretty healthy. My cousin Michael, who just graduated from UC David and is training with the Marines, contracted COVID and recovered very quickly. My family cancelled our Christmas celebration in Burbank to prevent my 94 year old grandpa from getting COVID. He is definitely in the high-risk category because of his age. I am thankful that no one close to me has died of COVID, and I pray for those who have passed away.
• 2021-01-25

  Covid-19 Statistics

  Covid-19 has killed and infected so many people. It has stopped life around the world. Even though the number of deaths to the number of cases is a huge difference a lot of people have died. Most people who die are older or have underlying conditions but lots of other people have died. Covid has been a whole year of quarantine and masks.
• 2021-01-25

  Statistics

  As we may know a lot of people had or have Covid-19. Compared to the world population there are 7.8 billion people in the world and 99 million people have gotten it. The top cases are in the USA (25 million), India with (10 million), and Brazil with (8 million). Overall there has been 2.1 million deaths and the average age is 60+. I had a personal experience with my peers being represented in these statistics. My great grandma, my history teacher Mr., Newman, and my volleyball teammate. The one who hurt the most was my great grandma because she ended up passing away shortly after she caught Covid-19. In conclusion, I miss her very much and a big amount compared to the population got Coronavirus.
• 
  2021-01-24

  An uneasy Quarantine

  My experience during the pandemic was a little unsettled. My fiancee and were in the process of selling our house when this new SARS virus started to really spread throughout the United States. Surprisingly we received many good offers and one was too good to pass up. We had a house lined up in a rural area of Florida but that deal fell through. It seems as the pandemic got worse and spread rapidly in the major cities a lot of other people began buying properties in rural areas driving the prices up so the deal fell through. We then began looking for a house in the suburbs of Fort Myers, Florida. In the meantime, I had to live with my parents while we closed on a new house. This was an anxious time as both of them are over 60 years old and my father has existing lung problems I was and am dreadfully worried about him. However, with some luck and a great deal of vigilance and adherence to recommended conduct by the CDC, none of us ever got infected. My fiancee works in a large hospital because of her knowledge of safety procedures and warning signs our family has so far never gotten sick. Despite a few people close to us contracting the virus including our neighbor and her brother who was frail before contracting Covid and is now fighting for his life. These are scary and painfull times.
• 2021-01-24

  Navajo Nation COVID vaccine rolls out for elder population

  Tséhootsooí Medical Center hosts drive-thru COVID-19 vaccine event. Elderly residents, 75 and older, of the Navajo Nation (Fort Defiance), are given the COVID-19 vaccine at Tséhootsooí Medical Center
• 
  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

  Food, COVID-19, and my Mother

  My mom raised her children around food. She made sure everything revolved around it just like the Earth revolves around the Sun. We ate whether we wanted to or not, as food was her way of showing love. Mom is now in her late 70's and still works miracles in the kitchen. When we visited my parents' house (pre-pandemic), she fed us until we could not eat anymore, then declared we were still hungry and loaded our plates with more. That is what Mexican moms do, she always says. Even though we protest, my husband, kids, and I love it. All of this changed once COVID-19 hit. Worried about my parents catching the virus, we did not see much of them in 2020. When we did, it was from a distance in their backyard and not for very long. It took an enormous toll on my mom. My parents cannot visit with their children and grandchildren, but almost just as worse, my mom has no one to cook for but my dad. Although she still enjoys cooking for him, it is not the same. Although we all know what food means to her, none of us realized just how much until this pandemic hit. Normally, she is rarely sick, loves to hike, and enjoys going to aerobics with her friends. However, lately, she has felt melancholy, is getting headaches, and is sleeping more. This is extremely unusual for her, which has us all very concerned. This pandemic is wearing on her both physically and emotionally. This feisty woman is slowing down, which is scary to us all. Over the past year, we continue to tell her we want to come over but would never forgive ourselves if we unknowingly pass the virus to her or my dad. Mom did not and still does not understand. She just wants what she wants, which is her family surrounding her. My dad is much more pragmatic about this situation, but mom will not have any of it. She is incredibly frustrated and is not afraid to tell us about it. Luckily, both of my parents just got their first dose of the vaccine last week. My dad said this gives them renewed hope that their family will be together again soon. I hear this hope when I speak on the phone with my mom. She is ready to get busy again in the kitchen. I cannot wait to eat her homemade tortillas straight off the stove, her spicy chili, and all of her other tasty dishes. People are now talking about the 'new normal.' I do not want a new normal. I want to get back all that this pandemic has taken from us, including my family crowding around a table full of my mom’s food.
• 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.
• 2021-01-24

  My First Day at the Vaccine Shot Clinic

  I belong to a nonprofit organization called “Team Rubicon.” We normally devote resources and time to helping communities across the world recover from natural disasters while giving military veterans and Kick-Ass Civilians (my title within the org) a chance to serve in ways not otherwise possible. I’ve worked several community projects over the years, and I recently spent a day assisting one of my county’s COVID-19 vaccine clinics. I anticipated intrinsic benefit from the time spent, but I didn’t understand the extent of the highs and lows I felt that day. At one site in one day, our collective efforts administered vaccine to more than 1200 of our neighbors. Most everyone I encountered was happy, excited even, to be there, despite what has largely become our collective increased levels of anxiety. I have new empathy for healthcare workers who don masks for 12 hours. I interacted with several folks, though, who exhibited truly crippling fear and anxiety. One would not even roll down their vehicle window to speak with us despite the prevalence of PPE on everyone in sight and within a hundred yards. Another patient wore a high-end, professional respirator and swim goggles; they refused to touch any paperwork or documents passed through the sliver-thick they created in their window only for that momentary purpose. I lost my grandfather late last year, and speaking with several folks in his age bracket compelled me to tear-up a few times throughout the day. I’m grateful those grandparents, and likely great-grandparents, will very soon be much more likely to be around for future holidays. A deep breath or two, a forced smile, and on to the next patient. We don’t have the right to project our struggles onto those we’re trying to help. For most of the folks I met, the relief emanated from them like sunlight. Many intended to travel soon, some just wanted their basic freedoms back. Almost all expressed imminent plans to see absent family members and finally hold those most important in their lives. Without fail, everyone laughed when I asked, "Do you have an appointment to get shot today?" For me, the hardest part came at the very end of the day. The last group in line, in fact. A caretaker came in with two elderly patients with significant COVID risk factors. They weren’t on the confirmed appointment list despite having a digital confirmation in their email. For reasons unknown, it appeared to them they had appointments that day, but no such corresponding record existed to support that, which meant there was no vaccine for them. None. Doses could not be brought over or manifested regardless of what everyone wished could be done. As I understand it, the vials are stored in deadly-cold temps and cannot be retrieved for immediate delivery. All the fear, anxiety, and outrage those “confirmed” appointments might have lessened or dispelled for them came rushing back, and their anger had only one target: the guy saying, “No.” I intend to continue this volunteer mission, and I look forward to working ourselves out of a job. Someday, perhaps, this entire episode of our lives can become a bad collective memory we all agree never to discuss again.
• 
  2021-01-23

  Change of Life A Friends Story!

  I realized the seriousness of the pandemic when I began an exercise program on February 6, 2020. There was not much noise being made about the pandemic yet. I got my nails and hair done on February 11-12, 2020. I would realize now that this would be the last time since I have done this in a year. As the pandemic progressed things were places shutting down and I left my exercise program on February 28, 2020. I early voted on March 2, 2020, and wore a mask. Saw my dentist on March 4, 2020, and got my hair done one last time. By May, I went practically to my doctors and my general physician via telehealth, and then finally I realized this was very serious. People I know began to test positive for Covid. One of these people came into direct contact with me so as a result I went and got a Covid Test as a safety precaution. I found out it was negative. I began to not leave the house now due to the rising cases in my community in Florida. In August cases began to surge even more as people returned to school since summer was over. The holidays came in December and the numbers continued to grow and caused me to not leave the house anymore. This has been a terrible year of isolation and has caused me to lose many dear friends due to the pandemics of isolationism and people's change in attitudes. I am blessed to have a great spouse and a home with a bed to sleep in. I got vaccinated in January 2021. While this brings hope I have to figure out what I am to do and how to move forward as a result of the ongoing pandemic while I have to still maintain safety protocols. I hope the end is in sight due to there now being federal government oversight.
• 
  2021-01-21

  Covid Christmas

  During Christmas we had a lot of family go to my one of my Grandmas house and we had Christmas Day there. A couple weeks later we found out that my Aunts brother was exposed to Covid. My parents got tested and they were negative, and so was my Aunt. The not so good thing is now, my other Aunt has been staying with my Grandma since then and makes us wear a mask when we visit our Grandma. That was my story.
• 2021-01-21

  A personal story of how I have been affected by someone testing positive.

  During the COVID-19 Pandemic, I had both sides of my family get it. My dads parents and my cousins, and my cousins on my moms side. This was really hard because I usually visit them every holiday or try to at least. Since they had COVID I wasn't aloud to see them or visit them. This was really hard because since wasn't aloud to see them I didn't know if it would be there last day, my grandparents are all 80+. This was a personal story of how I have been affected by someone in my life getting COVID-19.
• 2021-01-15

  Grandma's Birthday

  Last week was my grandmother's 90th birthday. We had all started planning last year. Family was going to come in from out of town, a photographer would be hired. My mother and aunt were going to gather old pictures for a presentation. It didn't go like that. Instead of gathering her five children, eleven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren (and assorted in-laws) for a celebration, the local families planned their timing to visit her at her assisted living facility. Luckily she has a ground floor apartment so we are able to visit through the window. Camp chairs were brought out of storage, pizza was ordered and cake was ordered to send in to her and we sat in a semicircle in the rocks between the building and the parking lot, sharing a meal around grandma's bedroom window.
• 2020-11

  How People I Know Testing Positive Has Affected My Life

  My grandparents tested positive right after Thanksgiving, but we didn't go up there since they were not feeling well. Other than that, my orthodontist and his wife tested positive, but I haven't had/needed an appointment in quite a while. That is just about it.
• 2020-10-21

  Spend time doing what matters to you most.

  During the COVID-19 pandemic I have had to surmount multiple extremely challenging situations that were only made even more difficult by the pandemic, including the death of my last grandparent. As someone with pre-existing conditions, I usually have to be very careful about not just protecting myself when I leave my house in Chandler, Arizona, but making sure I don't spread any disease to my family. When I got the news that my Grandmother probably didn't have much time left due to her cancer, it was extremely distressing for several reasons. The main reason was the fact that I was losing my grandmother, but one factor that was just as, if not more distressing, was the question of how to be able to best safely spend time with her. After a long discussion with my family, I made it clear that just being on video chat or on the phone with my grandmother was not enough; I wanted to find a way to travel to her house in Kansas, and physically be there for her. It was not an easy decision to make, especially when one takes into account that my method of transportation was to fly, which made me very nervous as someone with pre-existing conditions. Fortunately, I was able to take a safe flight to Kansas, but I was shocked to find family visiting my grandmother from out of state that not only refused to wear masks around her, even though she had virtually no immune system left. Despite such stressful conditions, I was able to spend a week with my grandmother just before she passed away, even though COVID-19 made it very hard. The fact that I was able to do such a thing is striking to me, especially when compared to the vast amount of people around the world who aren't able to spend time with loved ones infected with COVID-19 before they pass away. Looking back, I am very lucky I did not get sick, and I was even more lucky that flights were beginning to become regularly available again after they had been shut down earlier in the year. Most of all, I feel very grateful that I was able to spend time with my grandmother, especially when so many people are dying alone all over the world, leaving families distraught, and without closure.
• 2021-01-21

  Waiting to Hug

  My mom is 79 years old. Next month she will turn 80. Her age and health history put her at risk if she were to contract covid. Therefore, she has isolated herself for almost a year. Both my brother and I bring her food and supplies and talk to her constantly. We also see her often safely socially distanced and with masks. Since this is a very special birthday, I am not sure yet how we will celebrate. For other birthdays in our family, we assigned and dropped off food to each other and then went back to our respective homes and ate “together” on Zoom. It was awkward, but it worked. I guess we can do something similar. I just feel bad that my mom has been alone in her house for so long. It will have been almost a year since we have hugged, or anyone has hugged her. She is a tough person though and not letting it get to her at all. I know she misses close contact with my kids though. She misses reading books to them snuggled up on the couch. Thankfully, she will get the first dose of the vaccine on Tuesday. I’ve calculated that by the first week of March, maybe just maybe, we can all give her a big hug, finally.
• 
  2021-01-20

  The Trials and Tribulations of Getting This Shot

  It's important so that people realize that just because a vaccination is approved for use, it does not mean that it's readily available
• 2021-01-18

  Covid -19 vaccination at 23

  My name is Cassidy, I have lived in northern Utah for the last six years. I’m originally from Mesa Arizona. I am twenty- three years old. I currently work at a hospital in northern Utah. I’m a certified nursing assistant. I have worked on the Covid-19 unit and helped many patients who have had Covid in the beginning of the pandemic. I currently live with my parents. My parents are considered high risk. My dad is 76 with COPD, emphysema and cancer. My mom is 65 with an auto immune disorder. At first I didn’t want the vaccine, I was super weary of it since it was manufactured so quickly. I honestly thought it was just over hyped. But working with the Covid -19 patients I realized it affected everyone differently. Even though I personally wasn’t worried if I got Covid-19 . I was worried about catching it and giving it to someone who couldn’t fight it off, especially a loved one. And then I realized everyone has a loved one. And that’s when I decided to get the vaccine. On December 22, 2020 i received my first dose of the moderna Covid 19 vaccine at the hospital I work at, Ogden regional medical center. At first I didn’t even feel the shot. After I received the vaccine I had to wait 15 minutes to make sure I would have no side effects. I was fine then I left the hospital and headed to school and did my certification for my class. The next morning I woke up and my left arm was super sore and I had a really hard time moving it, since it was so stiff and painful. I experienced some chills but other than that I was fine. And today January 18th 2021, I went back to the hospital I work for and I received my 2nd dose of moderna Covid -19 vaccination. I felt the shot this time, the serum was a thicker consistency. My arm is tender and I feel a general feeling of malaise. I was told by the nursing supervisor at work to take Tylenol before my vaccine and to take it following the vaccine, and to make sure to get the vaccine on a day where I won’t be working or doing anything the next day. Unfortunately I work and go to school full time. So tomorrow I have school but I’ve been keeping up on taking Tylenol. I received this vaccine not for myself but rather for others, because I would hate if my parents caught it and didn’t make it. And everyone has a family member that could possibly not make it if they caught Covid-19.
• 2021-01-09

  Visiting Home

  I live relatively close to the home where I grew up in Belmont, Massachusetts which is about 10 minutes outside of Boston. It’s a simple home where six of us shared a bathroom and thought nothing of it! My parents, one of whom just hit ninety years old, still reside in our home and never plan to leave with my mother asserting that she will only leave on a gurney. My parents now feel essentially locked in due to the pandemic which makes visiting, which I did this weekend, both more important but unnatural in some ways. We are Italian, for the most part, and Italians are a touchy group, always hugging, which in my family is our non-verbal communication of love. With the risks involved with close contact there is no more hugging, and it’s hard to even want to express ourselves to these 90 year old's with a tacky elbow tap or fist bump. Verbal expression has been temporarily substituted but it is an inadequate alternative and will never replace the connection one feels from a sincere and long held hug.
• 2021-01-08

  Covid over winter break

  Over Winter Break my family and I drove in our Black SUV Ford Explorer Sedan 1200 miles or 18 hours to Cheyenne, Wyoming to visit my Grandparents. Along the way we stopped at the local Starbucks' to pick up a coffee for my coffee obsessed mother and we were on our way. When driving through Los Angeles, California you should always expect to be caught in traffic which was a minor setback, but we still made it through. The rest of California is very ugly being that its just Desert for 200 miles. During this time my sister spends her time spreading her nasty feet across the seat onto my body and refuses to move them for at least an hour. When I attempt to do this I am immediately yelled at and pushed off within 3 minutes. My dog which is completely lazy lays his little butt down between my sister and I and sleeps 3 quarters of the trip. My dad drives the whole time because my mom throughs a fit and refuses to drive even a single mile. And I sit down under my sister's legs under her super hot grey blanket in a cramped SUV in the desert and despite all that the car ride was pretty nice. When we finely arrived at our hotel in Grand Junction, Colorado we went out to Applebee's which I got to say is pretty good. I got the rib plate and a kiwi lemonade which I got to say is really good. At around 7:00 we arrived back at our hotel where we all collapsed and went to bed. At 5:00 we got back up, got dressed, brushed our teeth, and walked out of our hotel in to 20 degrees ferenheit. I made a mistake and decided to do it in sweat pants and a T-shirt. The rest of the drive was much shorter and a lot more scenic with the beautiful Colorado mountains and snow on the ground. we stopped at a local Maverick Gas Station to fill up and we all got out and used the facilities, even the dog. and the rest of the trip was nice. When we finally arrived we hugged our Grandparents and went inside. They have a enormous beefy Black Labrador named Hatti that for some reason liked to lick my dogs ears. Around 5:00 my aunt, uncle, and cousins came over and once again we hugged and visited for the rest of the night. over the next few days we went over to our cousins house to hang out and have a ping pong tournament, I lost badly. Over that time we went to my cousin's friend house to look through a telescope and witness something that only happens once every 400 years. Jupiter and Saturn join together in the sky and and create a bright light known as the Christmas Star. After that we went back to our Grandparents house to spend the night. the next day we went ice scating at the local arena and I swear I spent more time hitting and bruising my body parts on the ice then on my scates. The next day we spent most of the time playing pingpong with our cousin's. The next day we went to an escape room which we successfully completed and the next day it was Christmas Eve. That day was absolutely amazing. It started with launching a potato with a potato cannon across the ranch my grandparents own. After that we went to the shop and we did our own scavenger hunt which is our tradition. And then we went back to our Grandparents house to have our Christmas dinner with our great Grandma who is 92 and had our annual lemon cake. We went to bed and woke up and it was christmas. I got a lot of good stuff. like clothes a new football and a new build your own remote control rock crawler jeep. and then it was time to leave and go to our other Grandparents in Colorado Springs, Colorado. There we had a second Christmas Where I got New Airpods and a lego set. we hung around the house for mostof the days but we went to our other aunt and uncle's house and visited them for 2 days. And then it was time to leave to go back home the way we came marking the end of our trip.
• 2020-12-25T12:00:00

  My Christmas in Covid-Land

  On the Tuesday before Christmas Day, we went up to our grandparents' house it Tehachapi, and we left the following Saturday. Christmas up there was rather normal, since everyone on my father's side was in attendance, but when we had our "Second Christmas", my aunt, uncle, and cousin weren't there. Other than that, Christmas was normal.
• 2020-12-25

  Christmas During the Pandemic

  This year's Christmas was different. For example, we didn't visit with my Grandpa as much as we normally do, though we did stop by and say hello. Also, My Grandma didn't come by our house on Christmas and do the gift exchange with us. This year, it was just me, my brother, and our parents at home together.
• 2020-12-25

  Christmas in Covid-19

  It was the morning of Christmas Eve. Me, my mom, and my two siblings usually fly to Arizona to see my grandparents but because of Covid we had to drive. It was about a 6 hour trip so not too bad. When we got there, the tradition of every year is my cousins come who I never get to see. But again because of Covid, they cancelled out. To me, Christmas didn't feel like it had in the past. No cousins, wearing masks, I just didn't get in the Christmas spirit. I tried to make the best of it with my grandparents and see the good in that it was Jesus' birth which helped me brighten up my mood.
• 2020-12-25

  Christmas 2020

  The Christmas of 2020 was not too different from past years for me. On Christmas Day, my family opens presents and eats meals together, we did that again this year with little change. Christmas Eve, however, changed a lot. Normally, my family and friends would gather at my Grandmother's house to eat and talk. But, we could not do that in 2020. Instead, we only saw my Grandmother. Overall, Christmas didn't change much, the only thing different was the lack of people.
• 2021-01-06

  Christmas 2020

  This year, my Christmas was much different from any other that I have experienced. instead of having a big party at our house or our grandparents, our grandparents came over to our garage with masks on and they didn't come inside at all. We ate smoked chicken that my dad made on the barbecue. With my other set of grandparents, it was a little bit different. They allowed us to come over to their house and we ate dinner together. We had a Brent's Deli sandwich platter. All of my family was very generous with gifts, as usual. In short, I had a different Christmas from any other year.