Items

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  2022-04-10

  Boost sought in wastewater covid tracking

  This is a news article detailing the work of health officials and scientists and a new program of tracking COVID in wastewater through a program at the University of Arkansas. The Arkansas Department of Health hopes this new program will allow scientists and health officials to receive an early warning about a potential surge in the spread of COVID and take appropriate measures to minimize the potential damage. If successful, the University and the Arkansas Department of Health hope to apply for a $30 million dollar grant from the CDC to implement the process across the country and perform more research. The basic premise is to collect a sample of wastewater and test for COVID-19 and thereby generally derive if the community is increasing or decreasing in cases. While the program cannot give a specific number of afflicted individuals, it is suggested that understanding COVID in wastewater will give health officials a better understanding of those who test at home and therefore do not report on state-wide numbers. This article is fascinating, I think, because it demonstrates a rapid growth in scientific ideas to combat the pandemic since the dawn of COVID in America. Indeed, COVID has permeated every aspect of our lives, so it is only natural to derive a solution from even the most mundane aspects of humanity. It would seem impossible to gain a greater understanding of COVID from something such as wastewater, but the pervasiveness of COVID has encouraged study such as this. I think the ultimate mission of this program is valuable. When I had COVID at the start of February, I took an at home test and therefore I was not reported as a number in the statewide totals. This article really made me think about whether or not we as a society really know how many people are afflicted with COVID and just how serious the pandemic is or not. This article was published in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
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  2022-04-10

  Virus Questions Raised in China

  This is a newspaper article detailing the repercussions of China's "Zero-COVID" policy and the impact it has on families. The story reports a rise in deaths at a Shanghai hospital for the elderly and a further rise in COVID cases in Shanghai. Extensive regulations at the hospital have forced a decrease in hospital staff to manage the many elderly patients suffering with COVID. The article details that a significant number of patients are asymptomatic, yet are placed in strict quarantine to minimize the spread. There are reports of several patients dying due to a lack of proper care from medical professionals who are forced to be absent from the patient as they are locked in strict quarantine. The article further suggests that perhaps China's "Zero-COVID" policy approach is creating far more significant damage to individuals and their families than good. I think this article is interesting because it details an alternative approach to U.S. policy which has maintained a very relaxed and hands-off attitude for a majority of the pandemic. While many states took arguably excessively extreme measures, many states were lax on quarantine, mask enforcement, lockdown protocols, etc. Furthermore, China's policy seems a bit excessive, so perhaps the right answer lies somewhere in the middle. This Article was published April 10th, 2022 in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
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  2022-04-10

  Mask Necklace

  This is an Instagram post by xo.beads. Since the start of the pandemic, some companies have taken advantage of people needing to wear masks and designed accessories to go with them. One accessory that has been sold in some stores are mask necklaces, which are similar to glasses chains that some already wear. They are made to look good with an outfit, while making sure you can keep track of your mask better. These accessories can range from very expensive, with some well-known designers making masks and mask accessories, to the very cheap. It is one of the new trends that have come about since the pandemic.
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  2022-04-10

  Day of the Child vaccine drive in Peru

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

  Campaign to get your second dose in Peru

  This is an Instagram post by the Ministry of Health in Peru informing people to wait 21 days and then go get the second COVID-19 vaccine dose in the vaccination center closest to their home.
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  2022-04-10

  My Expirence with Covid-19

  I had Covid twice and my symptoms both times were just cold like symptoms.
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  2022-04-10

  Reflection of Life In A Pandemic

  As everyone knows, we went through a pandemic. From that point, more happened in my life in that timespan than the 18 years that have passed before that. Celebrated two COVID birthdays, had a death in my family, heart surgery, lost and gained friends, the number of times I felt sick but actually was not because it was all in my head, the battle I had against COVID-19, too much has happened to count. However, I realized and went through this weird journey that I cannot really explain. I learned a lot about my own body, my brain, my mental state and health, it went through one rollercoaster if I had to be honest. I do want to believe that those blessings in disguise were really that, but it was quite the actual opposite. To be honest, it was something spiritual that had changed me over the past two years and I don't ever regret going through with it. I found that there will be nobody who will ever put their lives for yours other than themselves, and I found that being selfless means WAY more than doing things for yourself. Helping others, giving things such as time, your body, mind, gifts and amongst other things that mean a lot to people and that is something we all needed during quarantine and the pandemic. Life is so short, and it has its precious moments, so do not ever let anyone destroy that and let anyone control what you can or cannot say. Be kind, and be gracious to others and be respectful, because you never know what someone is going through. Also, I definitely missed sports. The beauty of basketball, the sport that has given me a lot of love and hate, came back with a bang and cannot wait for this year's playoffs!
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  2022-04-10

  How the pandemic brought together friendships

  Pre-pandemic I had a strong, close-nit group of friends who we frequently made time to spend together whether it was a get together dinner, lunch or breakfast once a month, going to concerts, festivals, wine night or "just hanging out". Once the pandemic hit and we were on lock down we could no longer get together obviously. I was single at the time and has a very strong bond with all my girlfriends. Not being able to see them and interact mad me feel sad, sometimes lonely and some days depressed. When I reached out to my friends I discovered that they were having the same feelings. From that moment on we decided to have a virtual girls night/wine night once a week to stay connected. For many months once a week we video chatted while drinking our wine. Even though we could not physically be there with each other, it was the next best thing. For me, just being able to see their faces made so much of a difference. I felt very isolated during the pandemic and it definitely made me feel happier, less lonely and have something to look forward too especially because at the time I barely left my house. For some the pandemic caused people to lose relationships and become distant, but for me my bond with my girlfriends became stronger which I am thankful for.