The Effect Coronavirus Has On Americans

COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory illness. COVID-19 is a mutated version of a common cold. Coronavirus originated in China on November 17, 2019. There are many theories as to how this disease appeared but it is unsure how it was formed. This particular virus is serious since this is new to scientists. This disease made its first appearance in the United States on January 20th, 2020. The United States was unprepared to deal with this new disease. Coronavirus began to spread quickly and is still spreading like crazy to this day. Compared to nine months ago, health workers are more equipped to deal with this pandemic. Until everyone can get vaccinated, people should prevent getting COVID-19. I feel that it's extremely tough to adapt to life during a pandemic.

Coronavirus has multiple different effects on humans. Some people could develop symptoms that act as a common cold. Others can develop severe respiratory symptoms that put them in the hospital. The article ‘‘How the Pandemic Defeated America’’ stated ‘‘Its symptoms can be severe enough to kill millions but are often mild enough to allow infections to move undetected through a population. It spreads quickly enough to overload hospitals, but slowly enough that statistics don’t spike until too late.’’ This quote explains how coronavirus is a serious threat to humans since it can spread unnoticed throughout a population. Hospitals have become overwhelmed by the number of people seeking urgent care. COVID-19 is more severe in elderly people and people with underlying conditions. As a person with a history of autoimmune diseases, I feel it is extremely important to be careful. Children that are infected with COVID-19 are mostly likely to get mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. This can be extremely dangerous if that child comes into contact with an older person or someone who is suffering from an underlying condition. My Grandma suffers from pulmonary fibrosis disease. This is a chronic lung disease caused by inhaling second-hand smoke for a long period of time. My grandma’s lung tissue was damaged. This type of tissue makes it hard to breathe. Since my family and I knew this, we took precautions to make sure she was safe. The article ‘‘How the Pandemic Defeated America’’ said ‘‘To stop that spread, this country could use measures that other nations did, to great effect: close nonessential businesses and spaces that allow crowds to congregate indoors; improve ventilation; encourage mask use; test widely to identify contagious people; trace their contacts; help them isolate themselves; and provide a social safety net so that people can protect others without sacrificing their livelihood.’’ I think that it is crucial to take these precautions stated in the article. I strongly believe this will help America lower coronavirus outbreaks while scientists are looking for a vaccine. The article ‘‘America Is Trapped in a Pandemic Spiral’’ said ‘‘A safe and effective vaccine could finally bring the pandemic under control, but its arrival will also test America’s ability to resist the intuitive errors that have trapped it so far.’’ With the presence of a vaccine, Coronavirus will vanish from existence.

The pandemic has greatly impacted Americans. Not only did Americans have to worry about contracting a deadly disease but they had to worry about losing their jobs. To protect American citizens, the government thought it would be best to close all non-essential businesses. People who worked for those non-essential businesses lost their jobs.  ‘‘America Is Trapped in a Pandemic Spiral’’ expressed that ‘‘Unemployment rose to 14.7 percent, the highest level since record-keeping began, in 1948. More than 26 million people lost their jobs, a catastrophe in a country that—uniquely and absurdly—ties health care to employment.’’ Not only adults were affected, Children had to switch to online schooling. ‘‘America Is Trapped in a Pandemic Spiral’’ said ‘‘As more are forced to stop in-person teaching, students will be sent back to their communities with COVID-19 in tow.’’ I feel that coronavirus is spreading wildly.  You can pick it up anywhere. As a student, I believe closing schools isn’t a good idea. ‘‘America Is Trapped in a Pandemic Spiral’’ stated ‘‘Leaders should have taken the long view then. “We should have been thinking about what it would take to ensure schools open in the fall, and prevent the long-term harms of lost children’s development,” Redbird says.’’ I feel that schooling in person is vital to children. Learning online is difficult. There are a bunch of distractions, teachers aren’t able to teach the material efficiently and students have to teach themselves most of the information. I know COVID-19 is a problem and shouldn’t be taken lightly but there are other ways to make in-person schooling safer. Many schools are separating kids into groups based on their last names. Each group is given specific days to attend schooling in person. On the days that the kids aren’t in person, they are given work that doesn’t require a teacher to teach. With a lower number of kids in school, there can be the spacing of desks. Children can wear masks and maintain six feet between themselves and others. As someone who suffers with an autoimmune disease, I feel in-person school can be safe with better rules. In my last year of high school, All my classes were in person and I was getting all A+’s. I started college with two out of six in person. I found that in-person classes were better than online classes. My online classes were much harder since most of my teachers weren’t teaching at all and it was hard to focus. I had to teach myself all this new knowledge. As the semester went on, all my classes switched online and I began to see a dip in my grades. My grades were 20 points lower than last year. I am very unhappy and stressed out since good grades are important to me. If the school provided a better way to approach the pandemic, I would have had a better chance of doing well.

Overall, coronavirus poses a serious threat to the United States. Not only is it affecting our health but it’s doing damage to businesses and students in school. COVID-19 was unexpected and takes time to adjust to. I feel a vaccine will eventually be developed. Scientists are close to an answer but it might take time. After the vaccine, everything will return back to the way it was before. For now, Americans should work together and help each other out in a time like this. Lastly, I believe everyone should make sure to stay safe and adjust accordingly to new laws.