Items

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  2021-04-21

  Grieving a non-covid death

  My grandfather on my dad’s side passed in April 2021. It’s coming close to a year mark at my time of writing this. I think that being in a time surrounded by so much death and loss that we have forgotten about those who have died during this time unrelated to Covid. He had suffered kidney failure in late 2013/early 2014, that part of my life is blurry in memory so I don’t recall exactly, but he had been on dialysis ever since. It’s been hard to talk about his passing, everyone assumes that death in the last two years always has to do with Covid. Death is never easy to talk about, but it is inevitable for every living creature. My grandfather was old and had been sick for a long time, he lived a long and happy life. I don’t mean that in some cheesy way, he truly did. I carry a tremendous amount of guilt surrounding his death. Due to Covid restrictions, I didn’t get to see him for a year leading up to the week that I spent with him while he was in the hospital, then hospice. I still think about him all the time and the last days that I got to spend with him. I don't think I'll ever get to have that closure I want due to this. It’s almost as if we had expected death due to illness, accident, age, anything else, expected to stop. Yet, death of all causes never stops.
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  2021-09-07

  Thoughts on Covid-19 Vaccine and Blood Clots: Social Media Screenshots

  As someone who has studied the history of disease and epidemics, I know that disease causes widespread fear and panic. The uncertainties and unknowns of disease cause people to question themselves, others, and even medical professionals. Sometimes, questioning and being skeptical is what saves lives. For example, questioning Dr. Rush's treatment methods in the yellow fever epidemic of Philadelphia or questioning miasma theory during the outbreaks of cholera in London. Recently, there have been cases of blood clots as a result of the Covid-19 vaccine. This is a screenshot of what WHO has to say about the blood clots and a comment from myself. While I would love to get the vaccine, and I was originally hopeful about getting it, I'm too scared and unsure what to do. Although WHO says cases of blood clots are rare, there are still many people like myself who are skeptical and only want to make the right decision for their own health and life. With talk of possible mandated vaccines, I am uncertain about what the future will look like for me and others like me.
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  2021-08-01

  Ableism and Vaccination

  This is a complaint that I don't know whether to officially lodge about the treatment my partner and I experienced at the mass vaccination hub in Homebush. It is a complaint regarding ableism, and invisible illness.
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  2021-03-02

  'Persistent gap' nationwide in COVID plans for people with disabilities, advocates say

  This story resonated with me. While I was able to get the Covid-19 shot because I am a teacher, my disabled husband is not covered in any Tiers for the shot. We have no idea when he might be able to get the Covid-19 vaccine and it is scary for us. Why on earth would they not consider such a vulnerable population as a priority for the Covid-19 vaccine.
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  2020-08-01

  The Importance of Understanding

  My experience with Covid-19 and quarantine has consisted of me being anxious and confused most days. It has been a stressful, heavy burden on my mind due to the many ongoing, worldly events. This is especially true because I am an American citizen. To me, this post speaks very heavily about the message that needs to be heard by all Americans. Many people are not taking Covid-19 seriously enough and are only thinking about how Covid could affect their health and not others’ wellbeing. This screenshotted post is important to me because I believe the reason America is having such a hard time fighting this virus is because people are only thinking about themselves and how the virus affects them versus how it could affect others with different immune responses to Covid.
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  2020-04-02

  Flattening the Curve for Incarcerated Populations — Covid-19 in Jails and Prisons

  The spread of coronavirus has highlighted people and places who are most at risk for contracting and spreading the virus and the nation's incarcerated people are high risk for both. The people entering the prison system come from already vulnerable populations and half of the incarcerated population already has at least one chronic illness. This puts them at greater odds of contracting and dying from the disease. This article explains what measures the Federal Bureau of Prisons have taken to limit the spread of the disease and the authors, three doctors, suggest a three prong approach but fall back on the real way to slow the spread is to release people who are not likely to be a public threat. HST580, ASU
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  2020-06-06

  Chronically ill and highly vulnerable amid Covid-19

  During this Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve learnt that some people might be more vulnerable than others. Who is high risk? I am! A quick google search shows that a person taking high doses of steroids or immunosuppressant medication can be considered as clinically extremely vulnerable. I take both. The fear is real. It has always been here but now I need to be even more careful. The lines are blurred; how ill do I need to feel before deciding that I need to go to the hospital, an incubator for all kinds of infections and an even more potential risk in catching the deadly virus? As much as the hospital is the solution, it might as well be death welcoming me with arms open. The number of infected persons has rocketing at a time, and I could not help falling sick despite not having gone out a single time during the 3-month lockdown. It was finally time to go there, the hospital! I went armed to the teeth with my mask, gloves, and a sanitiser, cautious but still anxious, and I was met with an eerily almost empty building. The place which was usually buzzing with activity at all times of the day only had a handful of doctors and nurses but no patients! It seemed like everyone had respected the lockdown measures to the letter. I was relieved and I was cared for with the staff following all precautionary measures. In a measure of solidarity, the people had decided to respect the lockdown rules to avoid the spread of the virus and had in unthinkingly doing so, potentially saved the health of many vulnerable patients. I felt safe and I still do. Caring for others is after all a social responsibility and an expression of what it means to be human and humane.
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  2020-03-28

  The Coronavirus May Hit Rural America Later

  Rural communities and how Coronavirus will affect them