Photo provided by Dev Asangbam on Unsplash.
By: Alexandra Gonzalez ’23, staff writer
What I will remember the most about COVID-19 will not be what the specific recommendations were by the CDC, or who contracted the virus, or what my symptoms were after getting the vaccine. Instead, what I will remember the most will be how people reacted to the pandemic and the way in which they treated the people around them.
America is the land of the individual. People tend to do what is best for themselves, even at the expense of others. And in a public health crisis, I have not seen much change. The politicization of the pandemic has only made matters worse.
When people say, “You don’t need to wear a mask for me,” I wish I could ask if the same is true for the elderly or immunocompromised person that gets groceries at the same outlet as them. I wish I could ask the other people that they live with, work with, worship with, among other things, if they would want me to wear a mask for them.
People and institutions have decided that they are just “over” the pandemic, but that does not make the number of COVID-19 cases or fatalities any lower or make the lasting effects of these cases any less severe.
However, their decisions do directly impact those who are forced to come in contact with them. These people and institutions have made events and services inaccessible to those who are uncomfortable with living in the same manner as they were pre-pandemic.
During this past year, I have seen family members pit against each other. I have seen people who call themselves Christians make public spectacles of those wearing masks. And I have seen people die as a consequence of their own and/or others’ decisions.
These will be the things that I remember about COVID-19.
