Reply To: Review these thoughts from Deborah Tannen. Share your thoughts and comments.

[Sintya Sintya]

We all have been affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic affects us as a whole. However, the impact of the pandemic and its consequences are felt differently depending on our status as individuals and as members of society. While some try to adapt to working online, homeschooling their children, and ordering food via Instacart, others have no choice but to be exposed to the virus while keeping society functioning. Our different social identities and the social groups we belong to determine our inclusion within society and, by extension, our vulnerability to epidemics. As a frontline worker and working as a nurse, social distance hit differently, we are needed to be working in the hospital and help patients who are affected by COVID-19. The work environment was hectic and fast-paced. All the work was done with a conscious effort to maintain the integrity of our PPE protocols. The work was heavy physical labor as patients were turned for proning and also from side-to-side to prevent decubiti. This resulted in a very uncomfortable situation inside our scrubs as the heat built up under the PPE. It was also hard to breathe through our N95 masks (if it wasn’t hard to breathe then you had a poorly fitting mask that was not protecting you). There were frequent shortages of PPE and some of what we used was of dubious quality.

To others, social distancing has separated us from other parts of society. This led others to feel very much disconnected from their friends and or loved ones. Humans are made to be out and about and socialize with beings on Earth. These unfortunate events have led many people to be disconnected from society. This has led others to cloud their judgment and may wonder and ask, “How long will my life be on pause?” No one exactly knows when the pandemic will end or if it will ever end. One thing that I do know we all must work together to fight this pandemic.