Today marks one year since COVID-19 was officially declared a “global pandemic” by the World Health Organization (WHO). President Joe Biden will deliver his first prime-time address tonight at 8 p.m. ET to remember the half-million Americans who died because of the virus.
COVID-19 impacted the United-States more than any other country in the world. As of now, the virus killed more Americans than World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War combined. Health experts say that is a dramatic statistic that could have potentially been less consequential if it had been better taken care of.
“I feel that we could have really reigned us in. We probably needed more pay, public education about what the pandemic was and the potential,” said Kevin Sneed, a University of South Florida health professor.
Sneed added that the pandemic has been especially tough for the Black community. In addition of being more deadly to black people, it revealed how much the health-care system has been unfair to communities of color, who also have less access to vaccines.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is accused of prioritizing vaccine sites in wealthy white neighborhoods. As a result, Democrats are calling on the FBI to investigate after text messages surfaced this week from the governor’s office about the site in Lakewood Ranch that showed there were political considerations at play.
CVS opens new vaccination sites in Florida, expands eligibility to educators
Starting today, CVS will add 76 new vaccine-ready pharmacies throughout Florida. CVS is expected to receive around 200,000 doses in total.
Pre-K to 12th grade teachers are now eligible for vaccination at CVS, regardless of their age. Faris Chaoui, a substitute teacher is, like many of his colleagues, relieved about the news.
“It’s more safe for us too, to be included […] Every teacher gets to be vaccinated so it can be a better safe work environment for everybody,” Chaoui said.
While DeSantis was limiting vaccinations at state sites to teachers who are 50 and older, CVS is a national pharmacy chain, and the federal guidelines go much further in expanding eligibility.
Educators and school staff are required to present a work badge and ID or a pay stub, as well as a proof of Florida residency when checking in for the appointment. More information about COVID-19 vaccination eligibility can be checked in detail on CVS’s official website.
University of South Florida pushes for more classes in person
Despite the numbers of COVID-19 cases still averaging thousands of new infections every day in Florida, USF wishes for more physical classes to occur. However, most university faculty and staff are not eligible for vaccination yet, and it is unclear as to when everything will go back to normal.
Many new USF students did not have the full college experience because of the pandemic and most of the classes are being held online. In fact, freshmen of the 2024 class such as Julianna Degaetano did not even have a proper high school graduation last spring. They are desperately waiting for this situation to stop in order to experience college in actual classrooms and on campus.
“I hope that the school opens back up and we can have a more normal experience with classes in person. Also I mean there’s a lot I missed out my freshman year so hopefully I can just regain that but we’ll see how it all goes. We don’t know how COVID is, it’s unpredictable and we’ll see how the school handles it,” said Degaetano.
As vaccinations increase, many students and faculty members are hoping for a return to normalcy in the Fall. In the meantime it is possible to follow all updates on COVID-19 at USF here.
Credits:
Anchor: Hannah Halili, Demi Asensio
Reporters: Chloe Benjamin, Lauren Seigal
Producer: Payton Kirol, Brad Haft
Writer: Emmanuel Maduneme
Graphics editor: Sean Stover
Video Editors: Payton Kirol, Emma Kelley
Show Editor: Demi Asensio
Associate Producer: Carla Ibanez
Web Editor: Florian Philippe
Executive Producer: Gabe Castro
Graduate Assistant: Emmanuel Maduneme
Faculty Adviser: Jeanette Abrahamsen, Wayne Garcia
Videographer: Dylan Zuccarello
