Do We Have COVID?

On Friday morning, I woke up and checked my email to see my COVID test results from the day before. They were negative, as I had expected. I hadn't felt sick, but I wanted to go home to see my parents without exposing them. That same Friday, I walked down the hall, said bye to my roommate who was traveling for the weekend, and got in my car to drive home. I was so excited to go home and hug my family and spend the night with them. Going home made everything feel alright. 

The next day I went to the football game with my parents and my other brother. We have gone to the football games as a family for as long as I can remember. It was nice to feel a small sense of normalcy as we watched the game. That night I came home and was pretty tired. I took a shower and stayed in my room to keep to myself.

At around 8 pm, I heard my roommate's voice. I was surprised because she had planned on going to Nashville for the weekend. She texted us and told us that she had a fever and a sore throat, was afraid she had COVID, and was going to her parents' house to quarantine. I immediately started to worry about my family, who I spent all day with Friday right after I had said goodbye to my roommate. I didn't come out of my room until the next day at 2 pm, after my sick roommate had left and my other roommate disinfected our common areas.

One of the first things I did that morning was schedule a COVID test. I was able to get tested through UHS, which used a strep-like test and swabbed your throat instead of your nose, because I had been in contact with a person with symptoms of COVID-19. I decided to go through UHS because I knew their results came back within a day. The testing locations on campus had variable wait times and had taken up to five days to get results in the past. All day Sunday and Monday I sat worrying about exposing my family to COVID, even though I had taken the precautions to protect them.

Our first news came on Monday. My roommate who was sick had gone to get tested at the testing tent near the library and surprisingly gotten her results back within one day. To our complete surprise, she tested negative. I was so relieved, but being a worrier, was still nervous that my test would come back positive.

After a nerve-racking couple of days, I got my results back on Tuesday morning. I woke up an hour earlier than normal to check the results. I had never felt such relief as when I opened that email to see that I was negative. 

Flu Shots for All UK Students

Last week, Eli Capiluto announced that flu shots would be mandatory for all UK students. In response to the pandemic, the university vowed to promote student safety and well-being. Requiring all students to receive flu shots may not directly help with the coronavirus, but is in accordance of promoting the well being of students.

Getting vaccines and yearly flu shots is something I have become passionate about within the last year. As an aspiring physician, I see the importance of not only protecting yourself, but also protecting those who cannot be vaccinated. Herd immunity is important to protect those who have weakened immune systems or have severely adverse responses to vaccines and cannot be vaccinated. I strongly believe that the university should implement this policy from now on, continuously holding students accountable to getting their flu shots.

Getting my flu shot is not necessarily something I am looking forward to. Last year when I got my flu shot, I was absolutely exhausted the next day. I had a fever, couldn't get out of bed, and slept the majority of the day. However, I understand the importance of protecting my community. To me, one day of my own exhaustion is worth it to prevent an immunocompromised person from suffering from the flu and other complications. I wish that more of my peers would develop this mindset and see the world beyond themselves. Several of my friends are frustrated with the announcement of mandatory flu shots. They are upset that they do not have a choice (which makes me laugh considering their political views), but I just wish they could understand the benefit that it would have to the community.

Kentucky Football is Back!

After much of the summer was spent wondering if college football would be able to occur, the first home game of the season was able to be hosted on Saturday, October 3rd. While it was great to be able to experience somewhat normal life again, there were several changes that were implemented. 

The most noticeable change presented this season is the stadium capacity. Only 12,000 fans are allowed into the stadium to watch the game. Because of the limited capacity, student tickets were not sold as normal, but were instead distributed through a lottery like student basketball tickets. Fans were also asked to wear a mask for the entirety of the game (except when eating or drinking). Since I attend football games with my family, I have also learned that any form of tailgating is prohibited. Fans are not allowed to tailgate in large groups, and my parents are not even allowed to set out two chairs behind their car before the game starts.

When inside the stadium, seating is spaced out a very comfortable amount. When I was at the game, I was not concerned with people around me as ticket sales accounted for six feet to either side of a party, as well as six feet in front of and behind the seats.

The point in the game where I realized just how much I missed normal life was when the players ran on to the field. As the fog cannons started and the players ran out, my heart broke as I realized nobody was in an overcrowded student section, surrounded by drunken strangers, jumping up and down on the bleachers while screaming the lyrics to Grove Street Party. I also felt bad for the players, as this was one of the most exciting and hype moments of the game that was now not happening.

The score of the football game was 41-42, which resulted in a Kentucky loss. My friends joked and said this was the 'first sense of normalcy since March', with which I couldn't completely disagree.

COVID, College, and Classes

Returning to college and taking classes during the pandemic has been a challenge. Not only have I been having difficulty finding motivation to do my classwork, I feel as if the quality of education I am receiving is lower than before. Since all of my classes are online, it is difficult to find motivation to do my work, as I am not required to leave my room and go to a classroom. Online classes are also difficult because of the distractions that are not present in a regular classroom setting.

I do not believe that there has been an equal opportunity for learning during this pandemic. Some students are able to attend more in person classes than others. Some students have opted to not move back to campus or even to Kentucky as a result of a fully online class schedule. Students who do not live in the Eastern time zone are often not accommodated to in terms of class times and exam time windows. Having online classes eliminates interactions within the classroom setting, such as asking other students around you for help or speaking to the professor before or after class. Some classes have even been completely eliminated from the university this year, such as organic chemistry recitation. Not only are students unable to take recitation and seek additional help for free, recitation leaders like myself no longer have a job.

Because of all of these factors and more, I believe that the university should implement a hardship clause to prevent students from failing their classes. Should a student complete all of their work for a course, I believe that the student should pass. Each student is struggling in some way, no matter how big or small. Failing a college course because of any problem caused by the pandemic should be the least of a student's worries. While I think that no student enrolled should be able to fail a class during the pandemic, students who are unable to complete their schoolwork because of issues presented by COVID should contact their professors to receive accommodations. Unfortunately, I do not think there is any fair way to regulate this as students could lie to professors about their circumstances and the professor would have not way of knowing.

As a pre-medical student, I am not likely to be affected by the competitiveness of the job market. However, I am being affected by the competitiveness of medical school applications. A greater amount of students applied to medical school this year, which increases the competitiveness for each applicant. I am unsure how the job market will be affected for students on other career paths, but I am assuming it will be more competitive as there are people who became unemployed because of COVID that are also in the pool of job applicants.

UK Core Issue: How do We Distribute Covid Vaccines?

When it comes time to distribute the COVID vaccine, I think that the groups that should be prioritized are healthcare providers, those who work in nursing homes or assisted living facilities, and school aged children.

I think it is important to include each of these groups for different reasons. Health care providers are around patients all day long. Not only do they face the risk of getting COVID from one of their patients, but also risk exposing their other patients to COVID. Vaccinating health care workers will allow protection of both the health care workers and their patients. Similarly, vaccinating those who work in assisted living facilities will prevent exposure of COVID to a high risk group of people. By vaccinating the workers in assisted living facilities, the patients are also protected as the essential workers will not be bringing COVID into the facility. I think that vaccination within assisted living facilities should be distributed to the workers and not the residents because the residents are more likely to have compromised immune systems, which can result in complications if vaccinated.

The other group that is important to vaccine is school-aged children in public schools. Many concerns I have heard from parents are that they have to find child care during the day because their children are not in school. Vaccinating elementary and middle school children, along with their teachers, would allow a smoother transition back to school and allow many parents to return to work or relieve the financial burden of paying for child care. High school children would not be included in this because these children are able to care for themselves and can stay home during the day while their parents are at work. If enough vaccines are remaining, they should be distributed to high school students who have none or limited access to a computer or internet connection. This would allow them to return to school and receive their education without worries regarding their technology. These vaccinations would be limited to children in public schools. I know several students who attend private schools who have been learning in person because they are not required to follow public school guidelines. Public school students should be prioritized because they are the ones restricted to online learning.

Vaccines could be distributed at places of work. Health care workers would receive their vaccines at the hospital or institution at which they work. Assisted living employees could also be vaccinated at their place of work. Student vaccination would need to be offered over a period of time to account for the density of students. Vaccines should be offered at multiple locations to accommodate the needs of these families. Some of these locations could include the school itself, bus stops, or doctors offices. Once each student has been vaccinated, a return to school can begin.

COVID Intertwining with Pop Culture

At the beginning of the pandemic, I moved home with my parents. It quickly became part of my nightly routine to sit on the couch at exactly 5 pm and listen to governor Andy Beshear provide his daily coronavirus update. His calming and reassuring messages were appealing to many Kentuckians as he stuck to the facts and avoided any fear tactics or political involvement. Not long into my time at home, I found a FaceBook page called 'Andy Beshear Memes for Social Distancing Teens'. In this group, people of all ages posted memes and videos featuring the governor. The memes emphasized both his calming nature and his drive to keep Kentuckians safe. A common theme among the memes was that Governor Beshear was going to singlehandedly beat coronavirus to protect his citizens. This is best illustrated in the video linked below.

https://www.facebook.com/660131735/videos/10156702050281736/ 

I have also included some of my favorite memes from the FaceBook page below.

Outside of the United States, several music artists have been putting on virtual concerts to entertain fans and make up for the cancellation of concerts for the foreseeable future. Two of my favorite artists from the United Kingdom, Liam Payne and Dermot Kennedy, have created livestream concerts to play their music live to fans all over the world. Dermot Kennedy's "Some Summer Night" show was streamed on July 30th. Liam Payne has already had two acts of the "LP Show", which occurred on July 17th and August 29th. He is having a third act to his show on October 31st. 

Seeing my favorite artists perform virtual concerts has been something to look forward to since real concerts cannot happen right now. I am so grateful that social media and technology has allowed artists to stay connected to their fans and lets life during the pandemic feel a little bit more normal.

COVID Testing for UK Students

 Before their return to campus, all students at the University of Kentucky were required to be tested by a company hired by the university. The test administered was done at multiple locations across campus for a span of ten days. The process of registering for the test was simple, as an email or text message was sent to each student. I registered for the drive through test. 

When I arrived to the Kroger Field parking lot, I was directed to the check in, where a worker took my LinkBlue ID and checked me in, along with distributing my student health package. The package included 2 masks, a mask holder, hand sanitizer, antiviral wipes, and a thermometer. Once checked in, a police officer directed me to the lane I would be tested in. Overall, the test went smoothly and was far less painful than the other COVID tests I have received. 

A few days later, I was emailed my results. Fortunately, I was negative.

The video included below outlines the whole process of testing that students received. Testing is still available to any student who needs it, but it is now a walk up process with no registration needed.

The Most Important Part of My Morning

Each morning, I wake up between 8-8:30am. Without fail, I wake up to see a text message from the University of Kentucky waiting for me. It is our daily health log, which we are expected to fill out each morning. Before I even eat breakfast or even leave my room, I take my temperature and fill out the health log. 

The questions on the health log are more concerned with gathering information about students. The questions asked are 'are you ill or caring for someone who is ill' and 'have you been in contact with anyone who has tested positive in the last two weeks'. When I first heard that students would have to fill out a health log, I was expecting that students would be asked to log any symptoms they had and any events they attended where their health could have been compromised. Instead, the survey asks if the student has COVID.

If a student does not complete five or more of these health logs, they could face punishment from the university. While I do not think the health log is utterly important for me as I live off campus and only go on campus when I have my one required class and sometimes go to the library, I must complete it every morning to avoid punishment.

Studying at Willy T

 Throughout my time at the University of Kentucky, I have learned that I study best at the library. Most of my week nights my freshman and sophomore year were spent on the fourth floor of Willy T. I would stay with my best friend and we would do our work until 1 or 2 in the morning. This semester looks different because of COVID restrictions. The library is now only open from 8am-8pm on weekdays and 12pm-5pm on the weekends. In the past, the library was open 24/5 and I made sure to take advantage of that. With the library not being open during the hours I function best, I have had a hard time staying on top of my schoolwork as I am very distracted in my house and around my roommates.

This semester, I have been to the library a couple of times in the afternoon because I have let my work load pile up so greatly. While I have yet to have an extremely productive study session like I have had in the past, I was glad to get myself into a quiet and focused environment with minimal distractions. It is definitely not the same as before through. I always studied with my best friend, but due to COVID, no more than one person is allowed in the booths on the fourth floor, which is our favorite study spot. I was sad to see the signs indicating this restriction, but also understand that it is in the best interest of the health of me and other students. Additionally, there is only one chair per booth, instead of the normal four.

Also at the library, face masks are required the entire time. I had some friends previously tell me that that you could take your mask off once you sat down, but I found out that this was not true when I sat down and saw the following flyer. The masks do not bother me and I am glad that keeping a mask on is an expectation of all students, regardless of their location. 

Where to Turn for the News

 Finding updates on the pandemic can be overwhelming. What may seem like a public health issue has turned into a highly politicized issue across the country. News outlets like FOX News and CNN are highly polarized and present the issue as a political problem. Social media can help to reveal some things that the news won't cover, like people's personal stories and experiences with COVID, but does often not provide updates and harbors many polarized political comments. 

As a Kentuckian, I prefer to get my news and updates on the coronavirus from Governor Beshear's news briefings. I began watching him in March when I was forced to move home from my dorm. I liked how he remained calm and stayed focused on the issue the entire time. He kept Kentuckians updated on the total cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, as well as thoroughly emphasizing every precautionary measure he would be enacting in the state. He brought outside resources to cover topics that weren't his strong suit and frequently featured Dr. Stack to explain the medical side to a more in depth measure. Beshear never brought politics into his nightly updates and was instead focused on the health and safety of the citizens of Kentucky. Since March, he has been the main source of my coronavirus knowledge. I have paid attention to the CDC and their guidelines, but often did not watch the presidential press briefings as they often possessed false information from the president and included disrespectful comments towards news reporters.

I am grateful for Andy Beshear and his frequent coronavirus updates where his priority is clearly to keep Kentuckians safe and informed. While I do not understand his reasoning behind every single guideline he has released, I am very satisfied with the manner in which he has presented his information.

Will the University Close Soon?

 As my mom came home in tears from moving my freshman brother into his dorm, I gave her a hug and jokingly said, "Don't worry, he'll get sent home in three weeks." This was a month ago, and he is still living in his dorm. It may not be the college experience he was looking forward to, but he is still on campus.

I feel as if many students approached the semester with the same mindset as I did: we would move onto campus, be there for a week or two, and pack up and leave as cases soared. Social media depicted this exact situation at other universities around the country, including UNC Chapel Hill and Notre Dame. However, a month into school, I am starting to believe more and more that a university shut down won't be occurring, or at least not as soon as expected. Whenever I go onto campus to go to the library, I see people social distancing, wearing masks, and using hand sanitizer. Many classes have also reduced the capacity of students that can attend at one time, which further promotes social distancing. Living off campus, I don't see everything occurring and all of the steps being put into place, but when I do go on campus to study or go to class, I am pleasantly surprised to see the enacted policies and students following them.

As a student who is not on campus every day, it is easy to feel out of the loop on the pandemic updates. Fortunately, Eli Capiluto has sent out a link that allows all students and staff to keep up with the live cases, students in quarantine, and the recovered cases. I have found this very helpful in being aware of the university's current standing with COVID. The day I am writing this blog post, there are 432 active cases of COVID-19 at the University of Kentucky. Though this number may seem big, it is far smaller than I expected. I have been checking the active case count for the last few days, and it has seemed to remain fairly consistent. This has fed into my confidence that students will be allowed to stay on campus for longer than most of us anticipated.

The link to see the live COVID stats for the university is https://www.uky.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-data-dashboard?j=259221&sfmc_sub=147809236&l=21_HTML&u=8047059&mid=10966798&jb=20. 

My Experience Thus Far with COVID-19

My name is Addison Jennings. I am currently a senior at the University of Kentucky. I have lived in Lexington for my whole life, which definitely played a role in my college decision. In my first few years of college, I loved the convenience of being able to drive only 15 minutes to go home and see my family. During March of my junior year, I developed an even deeper gratitude for the convenience of going to college in my hometown; when I had to move out with only a one week notice due to COVID-19, my parents were able to help me move out safely and quickly. I was very grateful for this as I knew several people from out of town and out of state that did not have this luxury. 

Moving home so suddenly was a big adjustment for me to make. I had spent most of my nights that semester at the library working on schoolwork and studying for the MCAT. However, when students were forced to move out, all campus buildings closed, including the library. My nights of isolation on the secluded fourth floor of Willy T quickly turned into months of isolation at home with my parents (and loud little brothers). I was beyond thankful to be at home with my family, but struggled to find the motivation and focus I needed to stay on top of my MCAT study schedule. The busyness of my household was a big distraction as my dad began to work from the basement and my high school brothers had minimal schoolwork and filled the upper floors of the house with noise from their video games.

As a student looking to become a physician, COVID-19 made me further realize how important doctors were. I admired the dedication that medical personnel put into the health and safety of their patients as they risked their lives every day to take care of them. I couldn't help but think how one day I hoped to be in their shoes, serving my community and protecting people who are vulnerable in their health.

Fortunately, my family was not severely impacted by COVID-19. My dad made a smooth transition to working at home and none of my family members became ill. For the first couple of months, the only time we left the house was to go to the grocery store or to walk around our neighborhood. Once government restrictions loosened, we were able to actively participate in our neighborhood swim team. I was thankful to be able to coach the team after worrying that it was going to be cancelled. My role as a coach looked different than it had in past summers as we had to take extra precautions to keep all of the swimmers and families safe. We took temperatures at the entry to the pool, limited practice attendance to ensure social distancing, and kept an attendance log in case contact tracing was needed. Towards the middle of the season, one of our swimmers tested positive. This was a big scare to the team and especially my family, as my brothers often swam in the same lane as the swimmer who was sick and were in close contact with him. Luckily, my entire family tested negative and no other families on the swim team were affected.

Returning to school has been something I anxiously awaited all summer. I had been looking forward to moving into my apartment with my close friends since last October when we signed our lease. However, with the threat of a pandemic, I was nervous for all the germs we would be bringing into the apartment since we all had different responsibilities and groups of other people we needed to be around. The protocols that the University has established has helped me to ease my mind. Daily wellness checks, campus-wide testing, and the emphasis on personal safety has contributed to a slightly increased peace of mind. I look forward to spending my senior year with my great roommates and completing schoolwork from the safety of bedroom.