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We’re seeing wide variations in how different countries are handling the pandemic. What do you think about these differences?
It really frightens me to see how the pandemic is being handled around the world. From the current surge in India, to the Populist denial in Brazil, and the effective shutdown in New Zealand that essentially eradicated the virus threat there - the dramatically different responses from various governments across the globe terrifies me. Even with the Biden administration working overtime to make up from lost time under Trump's command, the US is facing its own problems with vaccinations, the neverending farce that is Q-Anon and the current "Republican" party, and misinformation. How many people need to die globally before we put human life ahead of $$$, greed, power....?
May 18, 2021
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La pandemia ha afectado la forma en que usted busca atención medica, sea rutinaria o de circunstancias más serias?
Sí ha afectado la forma en que busco atención médica. En primer lugar, porque el médico de cabecera cerró su clínica durante la pandemia y se mudó a un lugar muy lejano. En segundo lugar, porque, aunque traten de evitarlo, en las clínicas se da aglomeración de personas y el virus circula. Como ejemplo de esto, tengo a la madre de una vecina. Esta dama tiene cáncer y debe realizarse una operación. Su hija la llevó a varias clínicas donde debía realizar los exámenes previos. En una sola clínica, la hija no pudo entrar con ella. Para no hacerla más larga, la señora se contagió de COVID-19. Por suerte, el virus no se manifestó de manera fuerte, y con el tratamiento adecuado, la señora se ha repuesto bastante bien. Este incidente me produjo aún más miedo de buscar atención médica, aunque sé que la necesito. Hago todo lo posible por no colapsar, aunque hay días que me siento muy mal. De los servicios de salud pública, ni hablar. Es mejor no acercarse, especialmente porque estoy inmunosuprimida. Recientemente, me recomendaron un médico en específico. Estoy acumulando valor y dinero para hacer la cita. En el contexto de la pandemia, tiendo a alargar este tipo de decisiones. Pero en algún momento deberé hacerlo.
May 18, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
Two big issues this week: first, because my husband and I have had both shots, I thought it was time to take him out. He is very disabled and so this decision was a "big deal." We made it to an outdoor eating venue attached to a Mexican restaurant. I ordered for the both of us. We ate. He hardly showed any emotion at all while sitting there. I tried and tried to get him to respond to comments, the food, anything. I figured he did not like the food. And so we had to get home ... and he fell twice in the attempt. I felt "done in" by the experience of taking him out. I asked him why he seemed so unhappy at the restaurant. He said he was "scared," that though we were vaccinated, he thought he was still at risk for getting COVID. I had no idea that was his issue. I will try again to take him out. But I will have one our adult children come as well. I cannot take my husband out by myself anymore. His needs are just to great to be met by one person. Second issue is the issue of masks. Should we wear them or not? I do not think the country is ready to be maskless. But the country does not agree with me. Even at church this past Sunday, most of the people in the congregation were maskless. I have continued to wear my mask when going out. I am not ready to say that the pandemic is over. We did have our grandchildren visit this past weekend, and they had the run of the house for the first time since the advent of COVID. No masks for them!
May 18, 2021
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I continue to be grateful in spite of the daily doubt in the news that there is beauty all around us if we just stop and pay attention. I especially love just after a rain shower when things have been watered, and washed clean, ready for another day. It gives me hope.
May 18, 2021
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Have you or people in your community been harassed, threatened, or attacked since the pandemic began, either in person or online? If so, what happened?
Seeing the behavior of people in my community has been the most disappointing aspect of this pandemic. Right after the school year began, people who wanted schools to be fully open were making plans to protest at School Board members' homes. The fear of that threat changed the School Board's decisions; in essence, they changed their school operating plans to assuage their anger. Personally, as an Asian American, I have feared being threatened or attacked in public. Living in an area with a history intertwined with white supremacy groups makes that threat even more plausible. However, I am only half-Asian, and I don't know how many people can discern my heritage by looking at me. Online attacks and harassment has been rampant. Both the School District and local Health District stopped posting anything COVID-related to their Facebook accounts due to high volumes of comments that were outright mean and disrespectful.
May 18, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
This week I noticed a lot of people in a big hurry trying to catch up. Now that many restrictions have been lifted, there is a trend for everyone to get out there and get back to normal, at excessive rates of speed and discourtesy. I expect this coming summer will be a madhouse of idiots and insanity. I plan to stay where I am. I have enjoyed the pause the pandemic forced on the irrational sociopaths who are unable to respect others, let alone themselves. Today I walked into a Rite Aid store without a mask because I had forgotten it in my car. I was thrilled to see over 40 people waiting for vaccinations, mostly young adults, and I smiled when I saw them. Vaccinations are open to everyone now without an appointment and the place was mobbed. It was not until I was in the salty snacks aisle that I realized my faux pas, and I was so ashamed of myself I didn't know what to do. I could not go up to the cashier without PPE so I went back to my car and got my ragged multiple laundered N95 that I had been wearing since the 2017 California wildfires. When I got to the register I told the cashier about how clumsy I had been, and he told me if it ever happens again, to ask for a face mask because they have plenty of them to go around. Plenty of face masks for everyone. That's how it should have been at the beginning of the pandemic but for some reason there was confusion and misinformation, perfect tools for political influence.
May 19, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
We've had several fun events this past week in my senior community -- a butterfly release, an outdoor guitar concert, and a belated Mothers Day lunch -- sure signs that we are beginning to emerge from this pandemic. Those that have been vaccinated can go about without masks, except in the licensed care areas.We are still urged to wear masks around those who have not been vaccinated -- about 30% of us in independent living. And those who have refused to get vaccinated need to continue to wear their masks. I will continue to wear my mask in almost all indoor settings as I am immunocompromised and don't feel comfortable to let go of it yet. Four people who were fully vaccinated here got covid and one died. Scary and sad.
May 19, 2021
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Talk about what is most upsetting or scaring you right now about the coronavirus pandemic.
Whats upsetting me about the virus is even if people all are vaccinated its still going to circulate around the globe. It mutates and new variants keep developing. Will the vaccines even protect us.. we are retired we have our health and the financial means to travel and have some fun I never thought this is how we’d spend our twilight years. We see almost no one, we go no where and we aren’t doing much … sure we try to keep busy around our house but its boring as heck. I miss seeing people and having people over.. entertaining them.I miss getting together with all 17 of my family or travelling to see all my husbands family. My mother-in-law is 91 when will we be able to go see her? In my province over 51% have had their first shot but only a handful of people in this province have had both shots.so until we are fully vacinnated not much will change.
May 19, 2021
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Does this time of the year feel different than it normally does, or different than it should? If so, give some examples of what feels different.
This year feels less stressful since I have been vaccinated. However, my memory of time has been warped. I keep thinking that my memories of two years ago are last year. Then I am startled each time I realize that such and such a thing really happened two years ago. It feels like a year has been lost, as far as my memories are concerned.
May 19, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
This is an uprooted tree my daughter and I came upon on a hike this week. It was huge and we wondered what caused it. This is how the pandemic has affected me this week. I feel completely uprooted, off of my game in therapy, in marriage and motherhood. I would like to come back together, as I imagine this tree was quite something when it was in one piece.
May 19, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
May 19, 2021
May 19, 2021
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We’re seeing dramatic differences in rates of COVID infection, illness, and death in different places. What do you think about these differences?
My heart is just sick about what is going on in India. I'm sure that it's just as bad in other parts of the world. We have so much vaccine in this country, and so may people who have no interest in getting the shots. My sister is one of them. The people on India want to get vaccinated. So, why are we not send them our surplus?
May 19, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
I am still on disability leave, and I am still struggling with my Post-COVID symptoms. I'm getting some of my energy back, but it's almost impossible to concentrate. My fiance and I were able to go to Downtown Disney to celebrate our engagement, though. That was our first "real" date in over a year! That was very exciting. It was fun to be able to safely go out and enjoy ourselves. The CDC issued guidance saying that vaccinated people can forego mask-wearing. Everyone is excited about this. I'm concerned that the people who weren't wearing masks all along and are anti-vacc will just say "oh I'm vaccinated" and then not wear masks. Trader Joe's and Costco and Wal Mart have already issued statements saying that they won't require masks even though CALIFORNIA LAW says that we still have to until at least June 15. The problem with all this is that the more people who are unprotected (no mask/ no vacc), the more opportunities there will be for the virus to mutate. It's these mutations that we need to worry about because the mutated virus may easily change the spike protein that the vaccines protect against. It's a game of probabilities and numbers, and no one wins.
May 19, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
This last Saturday was a gorgeous day. Last minute, i said to my husband, "Why don't we ride our bikes to DC?" (We live in Maryland, just over the district line). So we loaded up with water and food and my phone with a map, and rode our bikes all the way downtown on bike paths! No cars anywhere. We rode the (Somewhat) new Anacostia River Walk trail--8 miles through Southeast DC and it was lovely. 18 miles in total for the ride. It was so great to be outside and seeing sights!. Lots of people were outside riding too, most without masks and it felt okay since it now appears it's impossible to get the virus if you're vaccinated (Which we are) and you just pass someone on the street.. Everyone was in a good mood. We stopped at a small park in DC on Capitol Hill to rest and there were lots of small groups of people congregating in the park, mostly unmasked too. It was so nice to see people gathering and feel like it was okay, not scary. It really felt like things were slowly returning to normal.. Then we rode our bikes to Union station to get the Metro home--here's the photo. Everything closed! I couldn't believe it. Usually Union Station is hopping at 3PM on a Saturday. But all the restaurants and stores were closed, even the lights were off. A lot of the shops looked like they'd gone out of business too. I guess some parts of DC haven't opened yet! I suspect in many places the "return" to normal is going to be rough. It's not just about taking our masks off and being able to go out, but making sure that people have jobs and places to live. I think it's going to be a long haul. I don't think we're out of the woods at all. But for a few hours, last Saturday, it felt like we were--and that was a great relief.
May 19, 2021
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What was the biggest news issue this past week -- either in your community, nationally, or globally? Talk about it and why it’s a big deal.
The news that concerns me most is the state of the Republican Party and their attempts to control voting by gerrymandering or by restrictions on the voting process. Unfortunately Trump is still controlling too many members of Congress who have no real reasons for their positions except to foil any attempts of a working democracy lead by Joe Biden. Unfortunately the power of the former president may be behind the reason so many are refusing the vaccination. I’m watching for the civil and criminal investigations of Trump to take him out of the picture. At least I’d like to see a day with republicans with a real platform and suitable leadership to lead the party to bipartisan operations of our democracy. Obviously I also follow the Covid problems in other nations as well as the conflict in the Middle East.
May 20, 2021
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What was the biggest news issue this past week -- either in your community, nationally, or globally? Talk about it and why it’s a big deal.
The fighting and anguish in the Middle East must stop. I don't know about the issues in great depth, but I do know that this nightmare situation must end. There must be a way for things there to get better. There have been rallies and marches from all sides right around where I live. It is frightening to know that so many people are filled with hate, on all sides. This is wrong.
May 20, 2021
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Have any milestones or major life events been disrupted by the pandemic, either in your life, or the lives of those close to you? If so, talk about this.
There are weddings we missed this year. We couldn't attend my husband's grandmother's funeral last month, which was really difficult. I missed a baby shower. We bought a new home together, but we couldn't hold an "open house" to celebrate with our friends, family, and new neighbors. We missed holidays with our families and numerous birthday celebrations. Today is my birthday and we're having family over to have dinner together and celebrate, without masks, with warm hugs, and laughter (and hopefully cake). I can't wait!! We have missed way too much together for fear of getting each other deathly ill. We have a lot to celebrate.
May 20, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
In the UK, last Monday (17th May) was meant to be the day that everyone was allowed to hug each other again, go to things indoors, eat indoors in restaurants etc. However, my area was one of two in the country to have high covid rates and we were locked down again for damage control with no one (technically) allowed in or out of the county except for essential journeys. This means my parents had to cancel their holiday, which they were upset about. But I still see people on facebook and instragram from the area posting pictures from other places in the country - clearly they are not obeying the rules. It is so infuriating that some people are giving up so much whereas others just do as they please the entire time. The pandemic has really shown how some people are self-centred at heart and completely impatient and want instant gratification whereas others are much more community-minded and able to play the long game for future happiness.
May 20, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
With the mask mandates lifting, cases in the US slowing, and vaccination rates rising, it feels like, if not the end, the beginning of the end of the pandemic. Recently on Kottke Ride Home I heard about how people got through pandemics in the past. For example, students tuned in to school lessons on the radio. Which got me thinking: how will people in the future wonder how we in the past got through the pandemic without the technology they will take for granted? Perhaps they will say, “How could they get through a pandemic without 3-D virtual reality goggle space? They must have been so lonely!” Or, “I can’t imagine being isolated without autonomous delivery vehicles.” Or, “A pandemic lockdown without on-demand printed food is unthinkable.” Best of all would be where competent government, well-supported and regulated pharmaceutical systems, and equitable political, social, and medical treatment means that potential epidemics are identified and shut down right away. Will people of the future say, “That Covid-19 pandemic is completely bonkers, how could something like that ever even have happened.” I hope so.
May 20, 2021
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May 20, 2021
May 20, 2021