COVID and the Election

 COVID-19 has increased the likelihood of voting by mail. Many people took advantage of this during the 2020 election; however, for those who did not, we've seen a huge spike in COVID-19 cases. The video below talks about how within the days leading up to the election, President Trump has made remarks discussing a return to the time before coronavirus. This has caused COVID-19 cases to increase in 13 battle ground states.

This causes you to stop and think: when will people believe in science over politics? With the winter season coming, it's expected that the virus will have a huge second wave that will be worse than the first wave. Unfortunately, the republican party has encouraged people to not believe the headlines which has resulted in spiking infection rates. Americas top epidemiologist have stated that politicians, including President Trump, have stopped listening to their advice and have decided to put politics first. This is going to have long lasting affects on the rise of cases going into the winter. Hopefully people begin to trust the science behind the virus and return to social distancing and wearing masks. If not, the numbers of cases will not stop increasing any time soon. 

Chinese COVID-19 Vaccine

If China ended up proving to have the best COVID vaccine compared to any other country I think various things would happen. Since China is a communist country, I believe they would try to bargain with other countries in order to get something out of distributing their vaccine to other places. They would want the best deal in order to help other countries, especially knowing that the world needs the vaccine. It would almost be like countries are at China's will. I also think there would be a huge shift in power in which China would be the most powerful country in today's world simply because of the pandemic. Global politics would be immensely effected if this one super power held complete control of the vaccine. Given the US and China are in the middle of an ongoing trade war, I think China would use the COVID vaccine to their advantage. China would use the vaccine as leverage to ease international relations. However, this would involve additional issues given the US has accused China of hacking the US for insight of their COVID research. Overall, I think that if China beats the US on their race to a COVID vaccine, the strained relationship between the two countries would get worse before it got better due to the struggle of power they've been facing. One country would have to compromise more than the other, and if China holds access to the vaccine first, it looks like that country would be the United States. 

STUNT with COVID

 A while ago, I talked about the STUNT team finally getting the go ahead to start stunting. We were able to stunt for about 3 weeks, until our president received a call informing her that our stunt privileges have been revoked. During practices where we were stunting, everyone wore their masks; however, some people would pull them down once they got hot or to catch their breath. I always tried to keep my mask on due to being within 6 feet of the girls I was stunting with but it wasn't always easy especially during those hard practices. About a week and a half ago, I received the following message from a girl on my team: 

She was informing us that she tested positive for COVID. This is someone I'm actively around at practice and work closely with. I was so upset with her that I never responded in the messages. I was upset because she would always tell the rest of the girls that if they didn't feel well to stay home and not to go out and party. However, she never followed her own advice. She irresponsibly went out various times and told us she thought she had a cold, but came to practice anyway. Immediately after hearing this, I scheduled my COVID test. The second test that I've had to schedule due to those around me on this team. It was super frustrating because I don't think it's that hard to sit down somewhere especially when everyone else's health is at risk. Later this day, I received a call from UK Health Corps informing me that I had to quarantine due to being in close contact with someone who tested positive. Suddenly another load of frustration hit. Every other day for the past 8 days, UK Health Corps calls me at 8 am (waking me up super early) to check in on me during my quarantine. Luckily, my test was negative and I will be released from quarantine on Tuesday. If my test would have been positive, I genuinely think I wouldn't have had anything nice to say to her. I hope she, along with others on the team who have tested positive, have learned their lessons and trust that this pandemic is very real. When I return to practice, I plan to urge everyone to be more responsible in regards to their social life and choices when coming to practice. This was the second time in only three months that practices have been put on hold due to people getting COVID and I truly don't want there to be a third. 

COVID Vaccines and Global Cooperation

When you think about receiving a vaccine, typically it's thought to be a quick and easy process. Not much goes into it from the minute you walk into a clinic, roll up your sleeve, and then leave. But what about everything that happened before the easy part? What about getting the vaccine to you in the first place? Various countries are rushing to manufacture a vaccine for COVID-19. This happens to be a global endeavor for various reasons. Many different parties are currently involved in producing a COVID vaccine, but the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine producer, may be a step ahead of the rest. They have teamed up with Oxford scientists in order to mass produce high quantities of a vaccine before anyone else does. Governments of different countries would have to work out some sort of contracts with this company in order to receive their vaccine, which would only be possible by having global cooperation and integration. Additionally, once the vaccine is manufactured, it needs to be distributed. Difficulties that have been circulating regarding the transportation of a future vaccine include that the vaccine will need to be kept at extremely low temperatures at all times. In order to do this, shipping companies as well as containment facilities in numerous countries will need to be able to facilitate the low temperatures for the vaccine. Other countries are involved in every step of producing and distributing a COVID vaccine, it will not be up to one country alone. Global cooperation and integration will also be prominent because of the high demand of medical supplies needed to support the extremely high number of vaccines that need to be made available. Whether or not a COVID vaccine will be made available to you will depend on the ability of many different countries to work together. 

UK's Miss Black UK Pageant

 Historically, UK holds a Mr. & Mrs. Black UK showcase for Homecoming in which contestants compete as well as receive a scholarship. This is always a really exciting event for the Black community at UK and personally one of my favorite parts of homecoming. There's good music and everyone comes out for a good time. This year, there was only a Miss Black UK pageant and it was held virtually with only three contestants. I attended it virtually which was pretty interesting. The contestants had to prerecord the answers to questions as well as their talent videos, while still dressing up for the zoom call. This was the best way to still hold the pageant while following COVID guidelines, but I don't think the contestants really got a feel for competing in a pageant which I'm sure was unfortunate for them. While the judges voted, the host began a game of Kahoot which was really fun and the winner won a giftcard. Under the circumstances, I think the pageant turned out really nice. However, it was unfortunate that there were no male candidates and that it had to be held virtually due to COVID. It would've been hard to hold in person due to the COVID regulations so instead of completely getting rid of the pageant, I think it was smart to do it virtually even though it wasn't complete. Everyone still came out to support the contestants virtually and support the Black community at UK!

STUNT

STUNT is an all-girl sport that takes elements from all-star/competitive cheerleading and sideline cheerleading and creates a new sport that follows NCAA guidelines. It gives female athletes the opportunity to continue their athletic career at the collegiate level. STUNT consists of tumbling, jumping, and stunting in a 4-quarter format similar to a basketball game. With COVID, club sports have been in a series of waiting games as to when we could practice and what the new regulations would be on campus. For me, as a member of UK STUNT Club, we couldn't practice until the end of August. With these practices, we could only have groups of 10 or less and everyone had to remain 6 feet apart. This was easy given we practice in the gym and if you needed to pull your mask down for a brief minute, no one was close to you so it felt safe. However, we were unable to stunt which really sucked because that's my favorite part. Last week we were notified that we could begin stunting which was really exciting...or so I thought. This was pretty scary because it meant that we would be within less than a foot of each other as well as making physical contact. We have to wear masks, but it gets really hot with all of the working out and physical activity so a lot of girls pull down their masks which makes us all more susceptible to COVID. It's scary to think that if girls on the team still go out and party on Thursdays, and then come to practice Sunday, that they could possible have contracted the virus and given it to the rest of the team. Just a few weeks prior to being able to stunt, we had to quarantine and cancel practice for two weeks due to someone on the team testing positive for COVID. Given that we are all in close contact with each other, I've decided to get tested once a week for my own safety, as well as the rest of the girls. I hope this is something the team also considers doing so we don't have to miss two weeks and quarantine again. 

Chapter Meetings or Awkward Zoom Calls?

 I am in a professional medical fraternity here at UK, Phi Delta Epsilon. Last year, we had meetings on Wednesday evenings as well as alternating medical events where different doctors came in and presented to us or we got to do a hands on activity. With COVID, our meetings have been moved to zoom calls where we must keep our camera on the entire time. Additionally, if there is a medical event, we must still wear business casual attire for the zoom call. For some meetings, members are able to attend in person while wearing a mask but the majority of members just attend on zoom. With so many members, it's hard to tell if people are actually paying attention on the call or just filling space. It can be really distracting when people are moving around on screen, but since the cameras have to be on it's hard to avoid that issue. Sometimes connection is bad or I just zone out whereas before COVID, I was always super interested and present at the meetings and medical events. It was pretty enjoyable, but with COVID it makes meetings somewhat awkward because everyone is just starring into the camera with the same few people engaged. 

Above is a picture from a chapter meeting, where you can see the slideshow behind one of the executive board members in the cell highlighted green. For this meeting, I was waiting for a Zumba class to begin, while another member was sitting at their desk and another on their couch. People have been in cars or other events while virtually attending the meeting. The flexibility is nice just because people can be wherever they need to be, but sometimes I wonder if that effects whether or not members are paying attention. For medical events, I usually just wear a business casual shirt and sweatpants since I'm just at home and they can't see my lower body. COVID has made it difficult to have social events with the fraternity as well because of group capacity. Last year, we went to Fright Night in a big group, but this fall the social event is bowling with a prearranged sign up sheet to ensure that there aren't too many people. It's hard to be involved with the fraternity due to the changes with COVID. Even though I've adapted well, I really hope next semester we are able to have more in person meetings and medical events. 

COVID and Education

 COVID-19 has completely changed school culture for K-12 students as well as college students. Majority of schools have moved to online learning as that seemed to be the safest option in order to continue education. I think that online learning has provided a equal opportunity for those who struggle to get to school or are unable to be present in classes. However, I think it also has provided an obstacle for students who's only escape was going to school. There are pros and cons to online learning which vary person to person. In my opinion, there should definitely be a hardship clause for students impacted by COVID to an extent that they may fail coursework. This is because COVID can not only harm students physical health, but the circumstances involving COVID can also be detrimental to mental health of students.  There has been a higher rate of depression and anxiety for college students in particular since the start of the pandemic. Those who suffer physically from COVID can easily get behind as recovery is different for each person while those troubled by mental health can have a hard time completing daily tasks including school work. Although other countries have face to face classes, there's still a lot of regulation that goes into being face to face. Class sizes have to adjust to maintain social distancing measures, temperatures and COVID screening surveys must be taken daily, and masks must be worn at all times. This also adds stress on students because it's a new routine just to go to class. I don't necessarily believe that this will make me or others less competitive in the job market on account of COVID. This is because people all over have been affected differently. I think it's more about how you finish, not all the twists and turns it took to get there.

Personally, I've struggled a lot trying to adjust to the online learning form and it's taken a toll on my own mental health. I think a program like this would be hard to implement fairly because people could take advantage of it which would take away from those who truly need to use the clause. Online learning during COVID has been extremely challenging for me, as I already struggled with mental health before the pandemic began. Being at home, challenged to teach myself material for 7 classes, while not being able to enjoy normal social outings that take away some of the burden of hard school weeks has been mentally challenging. There's been days where I don't even want to get out of bed even if it's just to grab my laptop off of my desk and complete work from bed. There's zero motivation and even if I'm determined to be productive, I find myself just unable to obtain focus. I have hopes that spring semester will be better, but with online learning, who knows how it will affect people then.

UK Core Issue: How Do We Distribute Covid Vaccines?

Distributing vaccines is not an easy process, there's a lot that goes into it. If I had to distribute a COVID vaccine to all the residents of Fayette County, Kentucky, I would begin with looking at the health disparities of the county. Since there is only enough vaccine for a third of the population, it's important to determine who is at higher risks for COVID. I'd vaccinate those with respiratory issues first, then the elderly, and then children. I would make sure the vaccine gets to those who need it the most by looking at data regarding health for the citizens. Specifically, I would analyze the data for those with respiratory problems and categorize them by severity. I also would ensure that the vaccine would be able to be distributed in many different clinics so that people wouldn't have to travel far to receive the vaccine. 

Along with all of that, I would have to consider various contextual factors. These include personal, social, cultural, economic, and political factors that vary between each citizen. Although someones circumstances could be completely different than someone else's, these factors have big impacts across the Fayette County population. I must consider all of them in order to break down the information on residents to ensure that the vaccine is getting to those who truly need it first. One of the most important contextual factors to be considered is the price of the vaccine vs. the income of the residents. One of the questions that would have to be addressed is if the price if the vaccine is not covered by insurance, will these people who need it the most be able to afford it? Another important contextual factor would be personal and cultural beliefs. Just because someone really needs a vaccine, doesn't mean they would want to receive it. In a case like that, it would be important to determine who receives the vaccine in their place. All in all, determining how to distribute a COVID vaccine would be a lengthy and thorough process with many things to account for in the final decision. 

COVID-19 and Pop Culture

 In the United States, pop culture has been heavily influenced by COVID-19. Due to quarantine, people have been more driven than ever before to revert to social media or streaming services for entertainment. People feel connected to their social life by keeping up with what's happening on social media, or they feel like they're in touch with a cultural output by binge watching the latest show everyone is talking about. In the US, movie release dates were postponed, while streaming services found a way for people to pay for these movies in the comfort of their own home. Streaming services have worked to reach the masses by having ads on social media flaunting what they have going on. When looking into social media, it's clear to see how popular culture has been influenced by COVID-19. Tweets and memes circulate the media so often that people all over the United States can connect on one topic from their own bed. They can stay current on what's "relevant" while talking about the new trend on Tik Tok. Ads for movies, such as Mulan, circulated on all social media platforms before they were released on streaming services, but before COVID trailers were just shown on television or at the movie theaters.

Pop culture has also been affected by COVID-19 in other countries such as South Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand. The K-pop group Green Day was scheduled for a tour across various Asian countries before canceling due to the COVID outbreak. They announced that they would reschedule dates once things were more clear regarding what will happen with COVID-19. Fans have been holding on to their tickets while actively following the group on their social media platforms. Influencers have made quite the impact on pop culture due to the eagerness for entertainment in a world where social media is so prevalent. As things progress and change, pop culture will continue to be influenced by COVID.

COVID and Food

When restaurants shut down in Ohio in March of 2020 I had to adjust quickly to my new normal. Usually, I would go out and buy food or meet my friends at a restaurant almost every other day. Once the restaurants closed I had no choice but to eat at home. My mom always cooked so this wasn't a big deal, I was just so use to buying whatever I wanted to eat whenever I wanted to eat it. Other than COVID affecting my accessibility to fast food, it affected accessibility to things you'd typically find everyday in a grocery store. Things such as beef, bread, and water were often hard to find throughout lockdown. However, it saved me a lot of money because there was no where to spend it.

Overall, COVID improved my diet because I was unable to eat out as much. I ended up eating less simply because I had more balanced meals so I wasn't as hungry as I usually thought I was. I had healthier options for food and snacked less. My family also made things fun by having everyone in our household cook dinner one night. For my night, I made meatball sub boats, which are pictured below. 

Additionally, I was unable to return to my longtime job at Buffalo Wild Wings due to it being closed because of COVID. It took about a month to find a new job (I was finally hired at Walmart) because most places were closed or not hiring. COVID guidelines made working anywhere quite an adjustment as well because of how different things were. The way stores were ran completely changed; for example, they had to follow strict capacity guidelines and wear masks at all times. Hours of operation for stores also changed and those changes are still in affect today. 

Overall, COVID had a huge impact in every aspect of my life. I've benefited from some of the changes made but other changes not so much. As the pandemic continues, changes in my life will continue, so I've learned not to get too comfortable under current conditions. 

Will COVID-19 Lead to the Shut Down of College Campuses?

Some colleges have made the decision to have a fully online fall semester while others have decided to have students back on campus. UNC Chapel Hill had students return to campus, but this didn't work out so well for them. As "COVID clusters" began popping up rapidly within the first week of classes, the school decided to shut down and send students back home. The video below discuses how off campus events such as parties and other things led to this. It also talks about how there were large gatherings outside of residence halls where students weren't following COVID guidelines. Several police reports also showed citations for mass gatherings on and off campus. This sparked a lot of talk in the college student community throughout social media. A lot of students from other schools felt pretty strongly about the topic and don't want to be sent back home. People who live in apartments would care a little less if a shut down happened because they wouldn't have to go home. I can't say the same for those who live in dorms because they would be forced to move back home which could be detrimental for some. Students who are lucky enough to be back on campus shouldn't take advantage of the opportunity they have and continue to be safe. It only takes a handful of people to mess things up for a whole campus, as seen at UNC Chapel Hill. Although there has been some parties here at University of Kentucky, I would say that there's no large gatherings that would lead to an outbreak like the UNC Chapel Hill had. Hopefully students on all campuses continue to practice social distancing and keep gatherings to a minimum; however, with college students there's really no telling what will happen in the upcoming months.

Information on the Pandemic

 There's always a lot of different information circulating in the news and social media about the COVID-19 pandemic. Some sources are more reliable than others, while some just make no sense. Personally, I turn to the CDC when it comes to information and read their posts. I also read posts from other hospitals just to see what's going on in other areas. I don't trust social media outlets just because there's more than enough fake news going around as it is. I have acquaintances who just believe anything they hear which causes them to act as if this pandemic isn't real. This has caused minor conflict in my life because I just remove myself from being around them...if they want to go out and act as if they can't contract the virus then so be it but leave me out of it!

Additionally, I think that it's more dangerous that the pandemic has been politicized than the pandemic itself. This is because people align the pandemic with the fact that it's an election year. COVID-19 Effect on Election talks about how each party has had to adapt to limitations regarding the pandemic. It's uprooted traditional election campaigns. It's also caused people to evaluate how President Trump responds to the pandemic as people have been concerned for their safety. I've heard people say the pandemic is fake and was just a plot to get President Trump reelected, I've heard others say that the government constructed the virus to take attention away from the election. It all sounds crazy if you think about it given people are actually dying from the virus. COVID-19 is no where near done and neither is the election. I think the effects of both will last longer than the public may be prepared for which is kind of a scary thought. 

My First Event Back on Campus

Since I've been back in Lexington, I haven't gone to any events on or off campus. I was kind of nervous but also knew things wouldn't be the same so why bother? I've been quite bored until my friend convinced me to attend a probate with her this past weekend. For those of you who don't know what a probate is, a probate is a new member presentation where new members present history of their NPHC organization and reveal who they are to those watching. These are always so fun to watch and it's very exciting for members of that particular organization and other members of greek life. They held the probate outside which was comforting and had cones designating what was 6 feet apart for social distancing measures. They also had designated entrances and exits and had people check in using their link blue at the entrance. Masks were also required the entire time. Everything looked pretty promising until it became crowded. 

Above is a picture I took at the probate. There are clusters of people when they're all supposed to be sitting 6 feet apart by the cones. The young woman in the bottom left corner also has her mask pulled all the way down as well as some others throughout the crowd. Not pictured is more clusters of people throughout the venue. Since it was outside a lot of people came in through the exit, but at the end of the show mostly everyone left at the designated exits after an announcement was made. 

Overall, I think this was managed pretty well other than the many clusters of people. Events on campus will continuously be held with guidelines such as making check in mandatory, having designated entrances and exits, wearing masks, and social distancing. However, I think there needs to be a capacity for those attending events. That's the only way to ensure that people are spread apart enough and to prevent these large clusters seen above. The event itself was still enjoyable even with all the COVID-19 prevention guidelines, but things need to be ran a little more strict if events such as these are to continue throughout the semester. 

Will UK be Completely Virtual by the End of the Semester?

 As a University of Kentucky student, I've gotten a unique look at how things are ACTUALLY happening on campus. After the first few weeks of observing, I do think that we will be able to continue in-person lecture through the end of the semester. Currently some classes are completely online while others have a hybrid format or are in person. Personally, majority of my classes are online and others are hybrid. The hybrid courses give the option to be in zoom instead of meeting in person which is really convenient. When I am on campus, I see majority of people wearing their masks. However, there are always some people with it below their nose or not wearing a mask at all. It doesn't seem like the masks rule is strictly enforced everywhere on campus which is concerning. 

Additionally, I think students should be tested often for COVID-19 because they could test negative one week and have it the next week. It was smart for the second phase of testing to include those involved in greek life getting retested because at other schools a lot of COVID clusters started at frat parties or things of that nature. I know a few people who attended frat parties recently and weren't wearing masks and definitely weren't social distancing. If the University decides to make tests required for all students every two weeks or even weekly, I think that the chances of keeping the spread to a minimum would be a lot higher. 

A big reason why I think that we will not have to go completely online is because the lack of off campus activity. There has been a lot of talk circulating around campus about the fact that people are scared to have parties because of the possibility of being suspended or expelled. Surprisingly, people have kept gatherings small enough to go undetected by UK police or Lexington police. I think that if people continue not hosting parties that the chances of an outbreak will be at a minimum. I also think that it's smart for organizations such as SAB to offer activities virtually so people are still able to participate. When they do host in person activities, they're held in places where social distancing can be enforced which is really important as well. 

Retesting students, daily wellness screening, enforcing social distancing and wearing masks are key things that will help us make it through the semester without having to be completely online. Be smart, be safe, and be cautious of those around you!

Future Scholars, it's Nice to Meet You

 I could start this blog by jumping right into COVID-19 talk and how it affects me, but who exactly am I? Well for starters, my name is Jordan Redding and I'm a 20 year old junior at the University of Kentucky. Typically, people look forward to their junior year of college because they usually turn 21, are half way done with undergrad, and can call themselves upperclassmen. So what am I supposed to look forward to this year? I can't go out to bars and party on my 21st birthday...I'm halfway done with undergrad but it feels like I'm starting something brand new...but why is this year so different? This pandemic has thrown everyone into a whirlwind of change that no one was ready for.

I've given you a slight glimpse as to who I am, but here's another: I'm an African American female. Now if we're being technical, I'm a lot more than just black, but to the bare eye no one would know that. Unless it's the middle of July and my skin is glowing from the deep brown rich tan I have and my natural curly hair is blowing through the wind. This might not seem like it makes a huge difference but I'll explain why it does. Picture this: a man who is Cuban, Dominican, Filipino, and West Indian marries a woman who is black and Irish. They have a daughter who has a child with a man who is black. That child is me. People often wonder why I don't tan like "the average black girl" or why my hair texture isn't as kinky as other black girls when I identify as black and this is why. I absolutely love my heritage and if you were ever around my family, you'd quickly see that. But off of looks you'd think I'm just an African American young woman. Biology has a weird way of expressing traits you inherit from your parents now doesn't it?

So now that that's covered, let's take a deeper dive into who I am. Here we go: I come from a middle class family from the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. I've lived a pretty comfortable life: got a brand new car before my 16th birthday, always lived in a nice house, holidays are filled with love and joy. Thankfully, I have never had to deal with any hardships, until I woke up one day living in a global pandemic.

My family consists mostly of engineers and nurses, so from the nurses in my family (who risk their lives everyday) I've gotten a pretty good outlook on how this COVID-19 thing was affecting areas around me. Personally, I'd say this pandemic has been less of burden on my family than others. This is because both of my parents are essential workers so they thankfully never stopped working. The first way COVID-19 affected me was when all restaurants closed down and I was unable to work or find a job. This was really hard for me because I've worked since I was 15, so I could only imagine what other's were going through as this was a minor loss on a much bigger scale. Although COVID-19 is everywhere, the closest it came to me was when my cousin, who's a nurse, tested positive. Thankfully she recovered and is doing well, but it was frightening knowing she could've been much worse. The biggest impact COVID-19 has had on me is really just limiting things I do on a daily basis, such as going to stores and eating out at restaurants, as well as being in school online. 

Now that introductions are over, I hope you have a good picture of who I am so that as you read this blog you can try to read it through my eyes. It will give you a first hand look into the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects it has on everyday life including my personal life as well. I hope you enjoy!