Month: April 2022

Categories
Pandemic Vaccine

Efficacy

Efficacy is defined as “the ability, especially of a medicine or a method of achieving something, to produce the intended result” (Cambridge Dictionary).

When used in connection with vaccines, it refers to the reduction in percentage of the number of cases in a group of vaccinated people compared to a group of unvaccinated people. Wikipedia explains the difference between vaccine efficacy and vaccine effectiveness: “For example, a vaccine efficacy or effectiveness of 80% indicates an 80% decrease in the number of disease cases among a group of vaccinated people compared to a group in which nobody was vaccinated. When a study is carried out using the most favorable, ideal or perfectly controlled conditions,[1] such as those in a clinical trial, the term ‘vaccine efficacy‘ is used.[2] On the other hand, when a study is carried out to show how well a vaccine works when they are used in a bigger, typical population under less-than-perfectly controlled conditions, the term ‘vaccine effectiveness‘ is used.

A recent report on vaccine efficacy in children and adolescents says that “during the Omicron-predominant period, December 19, 2021-February 17, 2022, vaccine efficacy was 40% against hospitalization, 79% against critical COVID-19, and 20% against noncritical COVID-19 for adolescents 12-18 years of age. Among the children 5-11 years old, vaccine efficacy against hospitalization was 68%” (Cosdon).

Social Media Trends as of May 12, 2022

Facebook #efficacy: 4,400 people are posting about this
Instagram #efficacy: 14,873 posts
TikTok #efficacy: 1.2 million views
YouTube #efficacy: 370 videos and 253 channels

Google Trends: although the term efficacy isn’t new, it peaked in popularity during the week of February 28, 2021 which coincides with the time that Covid-19 vaccines started to become widely available.

efficacy search term

Sources

Cosdon, Nina. “Pfizer Vaccine Efficacy in Children and Adolescents During Delta and Omicron.” ContagionLive.com. March 31, 2022. URL: https://www.contagionlive.com/view/pfizer-vaccine-efficacy-in-children-and-adolescents-during-delta-and-omicron.

“Efficacy.” Cambridge Dictionary. URL: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/efficacy.

Wikipedia contributors. “Vaccine efficacy.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 20 Mar. 2022. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccine_efficacy.

Categories
Pandemic Virus

Social distancing

Everyone by now understands what social distancing is. It is sometimes referred to as physical distancing. The phrase did not enter public consciousness until the pandemic came to America in March 2020. Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “the practice of maintaining a greater than usual physical distance (such as six feet or more) from other people or of avoiding direct contact with people or objects in public places during the outbreak of a contagious disease in order to minimize exposure and reduce the transmission of infection.” Social distancing is sometimes referred to as physical distancing.

The CDC expounds on the social distancing phrase as “an essential step in preventing the spread of COVID-19. Social distancing is reducing physical interaction between people and it lowers the chances of spreading illness between people. If you are not fully vaccinated, practice social distancing by putting space (at least 6 feet) between yourself and others. It is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic to protect people who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.“

After the initial outbreak of Covid-19, social distancing signs started to appear everywhere, even as decals on shop floors in the supermarket.

Social distancing decals on the shop floor of a Whole Foods Market in Toronto

Here are a couple of photos I took of social distancing signs during my trips to Idaho and Alaska. The photo below was taken in Idaho located just before the entrance to Yellowstone National Park. The sign adds an interesting word play as social distancing would definitely apply to wild animals like bears and buffalo.

Social distancing sign In Idaho near the entrance to Yellowstone National Park
Social distancing sign in Anchorage, Alaska

Social distancing can lead to emotional distancing. Working and studying remotely can lead to isolation. Stay in touch with friends and family using the technologies available. Call a mental health professional if you find yourself getting depressed.

Social Media Trends as of May 11, 2022

Facebook #socialdistancing: 3.4 million are posting about this
Instagram #socialdistancing: 12.8 million posts
TikTok #socialdistancing: 5 billion views
YouTube #socialdistancing: 165,000 videos and 36,000 channels

Google Trends: “socialdistancing” wasn’t even a phrase before the pandemic. It appeared in Google Trends during the week of March 8, 2020 which coincided with the arrival of Covid-19. The popularity of the phrase went vertical two weeks later and finally peaked during the week of March 29, 2020 before tailing off that summer as most people by then knew what social distancing meant. The phrase entered popular culture in the spring of that year when country music singer, Luke Combs, wrote a song called “Six Feet Apart.“

social distancing search term

Sources

Sikander, Iqbal. “Social distancing markers at a Whole Foods Market.” Wikipedia. May 1, 2020. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_distancing#/media/File:Whole_Foods_Market_-_Toronto_-_20200501110408_(cropped).jpg.

“Social distancing.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. October 25, 2021. URL: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/tribal/social-distancing.html#:~:text=Social%20distancing%20is%20an%20essential,spreading%20COVID-19..

“Social distancing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. URL: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20distancing.

Categories
Pandemic Art

“Six Feet Apart”

“I miss my mom, I miss my dad
I miss the road, I miss my band
Giving hugs and shaking hands
It’s a mystery I suppose
Just how long this thing goes
But there’ll be crowds and there’ll be shows
And there will be light after dark
Someday when we aren’t six feet apart“

Excerpt from “Six Feet Apart” by Luke Combs


Written during the early stages of the pandemic, when lockdown, quarantine and social distancing were quickly becoming the norm, Luke Combs and his band members wrote the song “Six Feet Apart” over Zoom on April 14, 2020. Combs was initially apprehensive about the song because it sounded “too cheesy” but after uploading an acoustic rendition of the song to YouTube it became a hit and more than 2 million people viewed it (Wikipedia).

I remember hearing this song for the first time on the radio while I was driving to Yellowstone National Park. It’s quite possibly one of the first songs to be written with the pandemic in mind and expresses the frustration and sadness caused by social distancing measures and restrictions put in place to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Six Feet Apart by Luke Combs

An online BBC news article reports some interesting background information about the origins of “Six Feet Apart”. Concerning the song, Combs said that “the anthem almost came about by accident. ‘That writing session was already booked before the Covid stuff happened, but my mind had been on it,’ he says. ‘The night before, I texted the guys and said, ‘Hey, man, should we do something where we address the elephant in the room?’ And they were like, ‘Oh, that’s perfect because we’ve got this title, Six Feet Apart’. ‘So, somehow, we ended up being on the same page, and I think we wrote it in maybe two hours'” (Savage).


Social Media Trends as of May 11, 2022

Facebook #sixfeetapart: 33,000 people are posting about this
Instagram #sixfeetapart: 96,119 posts
TikTok #sixfeetapart: 30.9 million views
YouTube #sixfeetapart: 290 videos and 213 channels

Google Trends: “six feet apart” became popular during the week of March 15, 2020. During the pandemic, staying six feet apart was the minimum distance to be kept between people for social distancing. When Luke Combs released his hit song on YouTube the following month, the popularity of this term exploded and reached its peak during the week of May 9, 2020.

Six Feet Apart search term

Sources

Combs, Luke. “Six Feet Apart.” Wikipedia. Last updated: September 30, 2021. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Feet_Apart.

Combs, Luke. “Six Feet Apart.” YouTube. The World Music Star channel. URL: https://youtu.be/dxKfYgnk72Q.

Savage, Mark. “Luke Combs dissects his lockdown anthem Six Feet Apart, one year later.” BBC.com. 27 May 2021. URL: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-57257580.

Categories
Pandemic

Covidiot

My last blog entry was about the derogatory term “Maskhole.” Today’s post looks at the origins of the insult “Covidiot.” The Merriam Webster online dictionary didn’t have a definition for this term but there was an entry in the Urban Dictionary dated March 16, 2020 which was submitted by user ‘you’reanidiot’:

“Relating to the 2020 Covid-19 virus: Someone who ignores the warnings regarding public health or safety. A person who hoards goods, denying them from their neighbors. Did you see that covidiot with 300 rolls of toilet paper in his basket? That covidiot is hugging everyone she sees.”

A few months after this entry appeared, an article entitled “What Does ‘Covidiot’ Mean, and Who Qualifies as One?” appeared on the Health.com website. Author Korin Miller writes: “A covidiot doesn’t take COVID-19 and the risks of the virus seriously, despite what government officials and the global health community say. At the same time, they may also engage in selfish behavior that doesn’t look out for the greater good when it comes to slowing down and stopping the spread of the coronavirus.“

The term has appeared in online news websites. In an article for News18.com, a woman was seen at a Kentucky gas station wearing a hole in her mask conveniently situated where her nose and mouth would be. When asked why, the woman replied that it helped her breath better. The article was aptly titled “This Covidiot Woman Has Cut a Hole in Her Mask to Help her Breathe.” Click on the TikTok video below to watch.

@joegotti96

Check this mask out #funny #fup #foryou #fyp #foryoupge #vital #funny #gasstation #viral #fyp #fyp #covid #mask

♬ Karen Mask – Joe Samaan
woman wears a mask with a hole in it

Social Media Trends as of May 10, 2022

Facebook #covidiot: 42,000 people are posting about this
Instagram #covidiot: 55,593 posts
TikTok #covidiot: 66,600,000 views
YouTube #covidiot: 795 videos and 441 channels

Google Trends: the popularity of the term “covidiot” reached its peak during the week of March 22, 2020 coinciding with the outbreak of the pandemic.

Covidiot search term

Sources

Miller, Korin. “What Does ‘Covidiot’ Mean, and Who Qualifies as One?” Health.com. July 15, 2020. URL: https://www.health.com/condition/infectious-diseases/coronavirus/what-does-covidiot-mean.

Samann, Joe. “Check this funny mask out.” TikTok. April 30, 2020. URL: https://www.tiktok.com/@joegotti96/video/6821575139763834118?referer_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news18.com%2F&referer_video_id=6821575139763834118&refer=embed.

“This Covidiot Woman Has Cut a Hole in Her Mask to Help her Breathe.” News18.com. May 5, 2020. URL: https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/this-covidiot-woman-has-cut-a-hole-in-her-mask-to-help-her-breathe-2606931.html.

you’reanidiot. “Covidiot.” Urban Dictionary. March 16, 2020. URL: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Covidiot.