COVID-19 Pandemic Perspectives

Young People Who Have Been Infected by COVID-19 (Anna Gasior)

Fact-Checked Source:
Dan McLaughlin, "The Younger Victims of Coronavirus"    

On March 31, 2020, Dan McLaughlin published this article to The National Review to inform the public that elders with underlying conditions are not the only people being affected by the novel coronavirus. This is a very helpful source because it gives several examples of cases in which young people with no underlying health conditions were infected with the virus.  


Looking Deeper: Five Facts Checked 

Below I have researched five claims made by the article shown above. I have done this to better understand this specific perceptive and verify if these claims are true.
Claim #1: "...the 25-year-old man (pharmacy technician) was found dead in the La Quinta home where he was self-isolating. He had no underlying health issues.” 

I think this fact is important because it describes the death of a young man with no underlying health conditions. It completely contradicts the mindset of many young people in today's society. This claim was confirmed in a letter on the official website of the Riverside University Health System . This website displays the cases in Riverside County and displays the most recent public health news. The letter can be found here.
 

 Claim #2: New York: “A popular Queens Catholic high school girls’ basketball coach and school administrator has died from the coronavirus… Joseph Lewinger, 42…”
 

I think that this claim is also important to include because it demonstrates the age range that is included within the youth of society. This man was much older than the other victims mentioned in this article, however, he was not technically considered "high risk". This claim was confirmed on Twitter by the principal of the Catholic College Preparatory School for Young Women.

  

Claim #3: "Chloe Middleton, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire (England), died last week.” According to her mother and her aunt, Chloe was only 21 years old and had no underlying health conditions. “She (Chloe’s aunt) said the family was ‘shattered beyond belief."

I believe that this fact is significant to include because it demonstrates the perspective of family members who have lost a loved one to the Coronavirus. This claim was verified by a facebook post by the victim's aunt. A screenshot of the post shared by a news account can be found  here.
 

Claim #4: Julie A, age 16, became the youngest victim of coronavirus in France. Her mother, Sabine, explained that she had no underlying health conditions and did not expect this to happen at all. Sabine states, “From the start, we were told that the virus doesn’t affect young people. We believed it, like everyone else.” 

This fact matters because it portrays the youngest death from coronavirus in France. It puts into perspective how serious this pandemic actually is. This tragic event was first announced on the  Agence France-Presse (AFP) website, where Julie's mother, Sabine, was interviewed about her daughter's death.


Claim #5: “A West Jordan family says five people in the household contracted COVID-19, and the infection killed a 24-year-old daughter and sister, Silvia Deyanira Melendez…she suffered from diabetes and had a heart surgery two years ago...the virus hit her hard.”

Although this claim mentions the death of a young woman with underlying health conditions, it is still important because all of the people living in the household contracted the virus. This claim demonstrates how contagious and dangerous this virus can be. This claim was confirmed by The Salt Lake Tribune, which contains an interview with the victim's father, Marcos Melendez. They warn the public that they never thought it would happen to them and will continue to social distance to keep themselves and their loved ones safe from this virus.  

Analytic Essay 

Unexpected Death: Youth of Today's Society Perspective on COVID-19

With the outbreak of COVID-19, came extremely unprecedented times. These unprecedented times bring fear, loneliness, and confusion to the world as we know it today. Everybody is being affected in some way or another. Every person belongs to some sort of perspective and has different feelings about the novel Coronavirus. And everybody’s feelings are valid and should be respected. I chose to research the perspective of younger people and their families who have been directly affected by COVID-19. 

A major part of this course was exploring the different perspectives of people on different issues. I think that this is a relevant connection to the events occurring in the world right now. Many people are experiencing very different things relating to this pandemic, and they all deserved to be acknowledged and justified. 

The majority of the youth of today’s society are not abiding by the new rules set in place by the government to keep our community safe. According to the World Economic Forum, approximately 42% of the global population are people under the age of 25 (Gray, n.d.). Therefore, if almost half of the world’s population thinks that they are invincible to this disease, there is no telling when this nightmare will be over. Ultimately, the youth of today’s society is the deciding factor of whether this virus will peak higher than it needs to. The perspective of young people and their families who have been directly affected by this virus can hopefully warn the youth of today’s society and encourage social distancing to stop the spread of COVID-19. 

During these scary times, people will believe anything that they hear in order to calm their fears about the future. As we discussed in the beginning of this course, scientists have a stereotype surrounding them and everything that they say. Society believes that scientists know everything and they never make a mistake. However, this is not the reality of the situation. Nobody can tell exactly what is going to happen with this virus. I believe that a combination of that mindset and misinterpretation during communication is what led the youth to believe that they cannot be severely affected by COVID-19.

I believe a huge factor of the youth rebelling against the stay at home order has to do with mental health. Humans are social creatures, and once we are cut off from interaction with others, it can sometimes take a toll on your mental health. However, according to an article published by PMC, a survey was conducted in China in which respondents were asked to rate their emotions during the initial stages of the pandemic. Only 16.5% of respondents reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms. (Wang et al., 2020). The research in this study could help to calm the fears that some people are experiencing pertaining to social distancing. This study could also prompt the government to take action and assist in psychological impacts caused by quarantine. 

The specific viewpoint from this certain perspective on this issue is to help the young people of society to understand the severity of this disease and emphasize the importance of social distancing. According to WIBW News, 25 year-old Christian Berema tested positive for Coronavirus and said he never thought it would happen to him. He told WIBW News, “I would just tell people our age to pretend that you already have it. Take it as serious as you can because it’s not a joke” (Martin, n.d.). This issue is so important to the young people who have been infected and the families of young people who have fallen victim to this virus because they have experienced the pain that this virus can bring first hand. If the youth of today’s society does not listen to the warnings, this pandemic could last much, much longer. An overwhelming number of people have lost their fight against the Coronavirus, including many young people with no underlying conditions. If the public (specifically young people), begin to understand the seriousness of this situation, the curve will begin to flatten.

It does not matter how old you are or if you have any underlying health conditions. You are not invincible. According to the National Review, Chloe Middleton, 21 years old, died from COVID-19. She had no underlying health conditions. Her mother, Diane Middleton, wrote on facebook: “Please think again. Speaking from personal experience, this so-called virus has taken the life of my 21-year-old daughter.” She is also encouraging others to “do your bit” by staying home to stop the spread of the disease. (McLaughlin, 2020). The people who have been negatively affected by this virus want to warn others about their experiences, so nobody else has to endure the same pain.

This specific perspective’s audience is young people who believe that they are superior to this virus. The most common way to reach this audience is through social media. That is how many people’s stories are found by news channels that will inform the public. The unfortunate story about Chloe Middleton previously mentioned was first told on Facebook by her mother and her aunt. Twenty-two year old Bjonda Haliti also shared her experience and the symptoms she encountered when she tested positive for coronavirus on Twitter (Haliti, 2020). Social media is the best way to share personal experiences and warn the public, especially the youth, about the dangers that this virus poses.

The facts that matter to the people who identify with this perspective is that anybody can contract this virus. They can enlighten others about the symptoms and what to expect if you were to contract the virus. The youth and their families who have been affected are counting on doctors and scientists to help navigate through these unprecedented times. This pandemic is scary, but being informed is the best way to protect yourself against this virus.     

Many of the stories told by these people have created a community. It has brought them in collaboration with other people who have been affected and brought support by people who now understand the severity of this virus because of their experiences. Overall, I think that this is an important topic to explore because many young people around the world think that they cannot be severely affected by this virus, which is not true at all.

 

References 

 

Agence France-Presse. (n.d.). AFP. Retrieved from https://www.afp.com/en/news-hub 

This source was used in fact checking. 

Carlisle, N., & Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. (n.d.). Family says 24-year-old Utah woman has died from coronavirus. Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/03/29/family-says-year-old/

This source was used in fact checking.

Death of a 25-year-old Shows Deadly Disease Can Impact Anyone. (2020, March 27). Riverside University Health System. Retrieved from https://rivcoph.org/Portals/0/Documents/CoronaVirus/32720youngpersondeath.pdf?ver=2020-03-27-125515-693×tamp=1585338932568

This source was used in fact checking.

Gray, A. (n.d.). What you need to know about the world's youth, in 7 charts. World Economic Forum. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/08/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-worlds-young-people-in-7-charts/ 

This source was used during fact-checking. It was especially helpful to help put into perspective what percentage of the youth makes up the world's population. The information presented in this source helped to further support my argument that the youth is ultimately the deciding factor of whether the outbreak of this virus will peak higher than it needs to. 

Haliti, B. (2020, March 18). I'm 22 years old and I tested positive for COVID-19. Twitter. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/baeonda/status/1240324132723544070

This source is a primary source that shares a young adult's experience with COVID-19 via Twitter. The main purpose of this source is to raise awareness and provide a perspective on how much this virus can affect the youth. It also acts as a motivator for young people to continue to self quarantine in order to assist in "flattening the curve". The key components of this social media post include symptoms that the victim experienced and what to do if you suspect that you have the Coronavirus. Haliti also mentions that she wants to relieve stress due to the pandemic, which is referring to the fact that she survived the virus. However, that is not the case for everybody, so young adults should be aware of the risks that they face.  

Martin, D. (n.d.). A positive COVID-19 case shares how the virus affects young people too. WIBW News. Retrieved from https://www.wibw.com/content/news/A-positive-COVID-19-case-shares-how-the-virus-affects-young-people-too-569000071.html 

This is a primary source from a news channel in Kansas. This source includes an interview with a 25 year-old man who recently tested positive for Coronavirus. This article contains quotes that come directly from the victim. There is also a video of the interview on the website. The main purpose of this article is to warn young people that they can also contract the virus. The key components of this interview include the symptoms that the young adult experienced and gives advice to the public to take this seriously. The victim also mentions to "pretend like you already have it...sacrifice going out for a weekend." This source provides good insight on a perspective of a young adult affected by COVID-19 because it obtains first-hand information directly from the source. The hope is that hearing it first hand from young people will motivate other young people to take this virus very seriously.

McLaughlin, D. (2020, March 31). The Younger Victims of Coronavirus. National Review. Retrieved from https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-younger-victims-of-coronavirus/

This source is a journalistic secondary source that compiles the information about young people who were affected by COVID-19 from a plethora of primary sources. The main purpose of this article is to portray the amount of young people that are affected by the Coronavirus and how serious this virus actually is. This article also spreads awareness about the severity of the situation and warns the youth that they are not immune. The key ideas include many stories about younger people who fell victim to COVID-19 who were previously considered to be "low-risk". This source outlines stories from 10 different places around the world. This source provides good insight for this specific perspective because it speaks about the many unfortunate circumstances that are occurring around the world. It also warns the public to take this pandemic seriously. 

Riverside University Health System. Riverside University Health System. Retrieved from https://rivcoph.org/coronavirus

This source was used in fact checking.

The Twist. (2020, March 25). A 21-year-old woman is believed to have become the youngest person in the UK to have died. Facebook. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/search/

This source was used in fact checking.

TMLA You. (2020, March 29). Please see the following letter from our Principal, Mrs. O'Hagan-Cordes. pic.twitter.com/SS5X1vbAo6. Twitter Retrieved from https://twitter.com/weareTMLA/status/1244100580773113856?s=19

This source was used in fact checking. 

Wang, C., Pan, R., Wan, X., Tan, Y., Xu, L., Ho, C. S., & Ho, R. C. (2020, March 6). Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China. US National Library of Medicine. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7084952/?tool=pmcentrez&report=abstract

This is a scholarly secondary source. The authors of this source come from China, so they know the severity of this virus and have had experience in navigating through it. Many of them attended the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and are studying the psychological impacts of self-quarantine and the coronavirus. To portray this information, they use the history of the events that occurred in China in order to inform the countries that are currently navigating through this virus. They also conducted studies and interviews on the psychological impacts of the people who lived through the virus in China. The purpose of this source is to explain the potential psychological impacts related to the events involving the Coronavirus. Some key components include that only 8% of respondents reported moderate to severe stress levels. Moreover, the percentages for anxiety and depression were also not alarmingly high. I think this source will provide additional insight for my perspective for two different reasons. The first reason is that it will demonstrate to young people that it is possible to self-quarantine, without major mental health issues. Although, everybody's mental state does not behave the same way, the results from these surveys have shown that the majority of people only suffered from mild psychological defects. The next reason this article will be useful is to allow the government to advocate for mental health and to assist during this pandemic. Hopefully, the help from superiors will make the transition of self-quarantine much easier in young adults.      
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

    


 

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