Category: Virus

Categories
Pandemic Testing Virus

Drive thru testing

Coronavirus testing sites began to appear in March 2020. The major pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens adapted their existing prescription pickup drive thru so that customers could get tested for Covid-19. Appointments had to be made online and testing could not be performed inside the pharmacy. Their were specific instructions for this kind of test: “In drive-through testing, the person undergoing testing remains in a vehicle while a healthcare professional approaches the vehicle and obtains a sample, all while taking appropriate precautions such as wearing personal protective equipment (PPE)” (Wikipedia).

drive thru testing at a CVS Pharmacy

On March 20, 2020 the first coronavirus drive thru testing site opened in New Jersey attracting long lines of vehicles. An NBC News article describes the scene: “Hundreds of cars, some with a single passenger and others packed with four, were lined up Friday morning at Bergen Community College in Paramus, located about 20 miles from Manhattan, to get tested for coronavirus, according to NorthJersey.com. The National Guard was brought in to assist state police with monitoring the testing site” (Burke).

When Covid testing was at its peak it was virtually impossible to find a location anywhere that had an opening. I remember trying to find a spot at CVS, Walgreens and Quest Diagnostics only to find they had no availability.

@1corporatemillennial

just as accurate as a rapid test, right? 🤒#corporatemillennial #millennialsoftiktok #wfh #9to5 #corporateamerica #workfromhome #corporatehumor #relatable #jokes

♬ umm.. yeah – andrew


The UK Government’s Department of Health and Social Care provided a how to guide for self-swabbing when going to a drive thru Covid testing site:


Social Media Trends as of May 13, 2022

Facebook #drivethrutesting: people are posting about this
Instagram #drivethrutesting: 2,783 posts
TikTok #drivethrutesting: 178,800 views
YouTube #drivethrutesting: less than 100 videos and channels

Google Trends: drive thru testing appeared during the week of March 8, 2020 when Covid testing centers started to pop up across the nation. During the peak of various Covid waves, the search term spiked as people tried to find testing locations where there was still availability. The term peaked in Christmas 2021 when the Omicron variant was rapidly spreading everywhere.

drive thru testing search term

Sources:

Burke, Minyvonne. “New coronavirus drive-thru test sites open, drawing huge lines: ‘Not for the worried well.” NBC News. March 20, 2020. URL: https://www.nbc
news.com/news/us-news/new-coronavirus-drive-thru-test-sites-open-drawing-huge-lines-n1164771.

“Drive through testing”. Wikipedia. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_testing#Drive-through_testing.

Elly | Corporate Millennial. “When you can’t get a Covid test anywhere.” TikTok. 2021. URL: https://www.tiktok.com/@1corporatemillennial/video/7052491365678058758.

“How to self-swab in your car at a Regional Test Site or Mobile Test Unit.” Department of Health and Social Care. UK Government. June 16, 2020. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QawyKwIIfKQ.

Categories
Pandemic Virus

Omicron

Omicron is the name of a highly transmissible variant of the Covid-19 virus and was first detected in South Africa in November 2021. Two months later it had spread around the world faster than previous variants. It arrived in the United States in the same month it was detected in South Africa. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on December 1, 2021 that “the California and San Francisco Departments of Public Health have confirmed that a recent case of COVID-19 among an individual in California was caused by the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529). The individual was a traveler who returned from South Africa on November 22, 2021. The individual had mild symptoms that are improving, is self-quarantining and has been since testing positive.” By Christmas 2021, Omicron was the world’s most dominant variant.

So where did the variant gets its name from? Omicron is one of the Greek letters of the alphabet. An article published for the South China Morning Post on 17 December 2021 explains why: “Alpha, beta, gamma, delta…[The] World Health Organization determined in May 2021 that its nomenclature for important strains in the Sars-CoV-2 variant classification would adopt Greek-letter names (as opposed to place-of-origin names, such as “Wuhan virus” or “South African variant”, the practice criticised for contributing to xenophobia and racism)” (Lim).

The new variant dashed hopes of a return to normal during the Christmas holidays and delayed return to office plans. Cases rose exponentially and schools deliberated whether to return to virtual learning. An article published on December 20, 2021 for NBC News on December 16, 2021 reports that “The omicron variant is spreading rapidly across the United States, shattering hopes of a return to relative normalcy in the final days of the year and harkening back to the anxiety of the early months of the Covid-19 crisis. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease expert, told NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ on Sunday that the variant is “just raging through the world” (Arkin).


Omicron sounds more like the name you would give to a transformer than a Covid variant. Ironically, an anagram of the word spells “Moronic.”

Omicron is the name you might give to a transformer (Wikipedia)

The Covid-19 variant started popping up in memes and YouTube videos. Here’s a Star Trek parody of how to pronounce the word “Omicron.”


Here’s a tweet showing a parody photo of the UK gameshow Countdown with the words Omicron and its anagram Moronic.


Social Media Trends as of May 11, 2022

Facebook #omicron: 300,000 people are posting about this
Instagram #omicron: 594,110 posts
TikTok #omicron: 3.2 billion views
YouTube #omicron: 130,000 videos and 30,000 channels

Google Trends: omicron as a search term became popular during the week of November 21, 2021 and peaked around Christmas Day around the time it became the world’s most highly transmissible variant.

omicron search term

Sources:

Arkin, Daniel. “Omicron spreads across U.S., dashing holiday hopes, putting NHL on pause.” NBC News. December 21, 2021. URL: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/omicron-variant-spreads-us-dashing-hopes-normal-christmas-rcna9350.

“First Confirmed Case of Omicron Variant Detected in the United States.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. December 1, 2021. URL: https://www.cdc.gov/media/
releases/2021/s1201-omicron-variant.html.

FreedomPodcast1. Countdown gameshow image. Twitter. November 27, 2021. URL: https://twitter.com/FreedomPodcast1/status/1464660316697075718.

Lim, Lisa. “Language Matters – Omicron: where does the variant Covid-19 name come from?” South China Morning Post. 17 December 2021. URL: https://www.scmp.com/
magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3159959/omicron-where-does-variant-covid-19-name-come.

Mark2k. “How to Pronounce “Omicron” the Star Trek Way.” YouTube. 2021. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GjMbMQGOpA.

prayitno. “Costume characters at Universal Studio Hollywood – Optimus Prime & Bumble Bee TRANSFORMERS THE RIDE-3D Universal Studios ~ Hollywood, California.” Wikipedia. May 20, 2012. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Transformers#/media/File:Transformers_costume_characters_at_Universal_Studios_Hollywood.jpg.

Categories
Pandemic Pandemic Art Virus

Quarantine

Quarantine: “A form of living hell during Covid-19 where we have to stay home and live a very shitty life style and our mental health is affected. We also can’t see our friends or anyone for a long time. We are also out of school and everything.” Also known as a “Cornteen,” the American spelling of quarantine (Urban Dictionary).

We’re in Year 3 of the pandemic and most of us have probably quarantined at least once. It’s a strategy designed to prevent transmission of coronavirus by having those who had close contact with an infected person stay apart from others and having their movements restricted to see if they get sick. Many governments imposed quarantines on people who traveled abroad or even across state lines. Typically the quarantine period was 14 days though this has changed as more people are vaccinated.

The UVA Health website has a glossary of pandemic terms, and for quarantine it says it “is sometimes called ‘isolation.’ Quarantines keep people away from each other to prevent the spread of disease. Stay-at-home orders are a type of quarantine” (Glossary of Terms).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if you were exposed to someone with Covid-19 you should remain home and quarantine for 5 days while wearing a mask around others in the home. You are advised not to travel. After five days you should get tested and watch for symptoms for 10 days from the day you last had contact with someone diagnosed with Covid-19. You do not need to quarantine if you have been fully vaccinated or you previously tested positive for Covid-19 within the last 90 days (Quarantine and Isolation).

Alessi Ayvaz, staff writer for The Californiam recently wrote an article on how the pandemic has changed our lexicon: “If I asked each one of you reading this article the exact difference between quarantine and isolation before and after the pandemic, I am almost certain that you would have had to look up the definitions before (and hopefully not research as much now, whether or not you’ve had your own experiences in the La Loma dorms in Foothill). The CDC defines quarantine as “separating” and “restricting” people possibly exposed to an infection to see if they do become sick, whereas isolation is separating those who are confirmed to be sick from those who are not.“

So what did people do when stuck in quarantine? LoveThyNerd website published a “Nerdy Quarantine Resource Mega List” for nerds which had information on quarantine info, groups to play games with on Facebook, exercising for nerds, coloring pages and online conventions for those in quarantine.

On March 26, 2020 veteran U.S. Army Ranger Mat Best and country artist Tim Montana wrote the song “Quarantine.” As of May 2, 2022 the song has received over 4.5 million views.

“Quarantine, quarantine, Drinking whiskey like vaccine, Waving at the neighbors, Social distancing.”

image submitted by brovarky

Social Media Trends as of May 1, 2022

Facebook #quarantine: 3.9 million people are posting about this
Instagram #quarantine: 29,963,299 posts
TikTok #quarantine: 78.7 billion views
YouTube #quarantine: 304,000 videos and 138,000 channels

Google Trends: quarantine achieved peak popularity during the week of October 25, 2020.

quarantine search term

Sources

Ayvaz, Alessi. “From herd immunity to ‘maskne’: How the COVID-19 pandemic has changed our English lexicon.” The Daily Californian. April 14, 2022. URL: https://www.dailycal.org/2022/04/14/from-herd-immunity-to-maskne-how-the-covid-19-pandemic-has-changed-our-english-lexicon/.

Brovarky. “Quarantine.” Adobe.com. File no: 324143620.

Caouette, April-Lyn. “Nerdy Resource Quarantine Mega List.” Love Thy Nerd. April 10, 2020. URL: https://lovethynerd.com/nerdy-quarantine-resource-mega-list/.

“Coronavirus & COVID-19: Glossary of Terms.” University of Virginia. URL: https://uvahealth.com/services/covid19-glossary.

Goth Doll. “Cornteen.” Urban Dictionary. October 19, 2020. URL: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Cornteen.

“Quarantine” a song by Mat Best and Tim Montana. YouTube. March 26, 2020. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3xpRZITi2w.

“Quarantine and Isolation.” Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention. March 30, 2022. URL: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/quarantine-isolation.html#quarantine.

Thesavageofall. “Quarantine.” The Urban Dictionary. March 29, 2020. URL: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Quarantine.

Categories
Pandemic Vaccine Virus

Dr. Fauci

Dr. Anthony Stephen Fauci serves as the Chief Medical Advisor to the President, a position he has held since January 20, 2021. He has advised many Presidents on local and global health concerns such as HIV/AIDS. Dr. Fauci also serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a position he has held since 1984. You can read more about his extensive research into infectious diseases here.

Dr. Anthony Fauci attending a
pandemic update April 7, 2020

Whether you like him or not, Dr. Fauci has become a household name and is the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. He has given extensive interviews in the media concerning the pandemic, mask wearing and vaccinations.

An article published on 22 March 2020 for The Guardian entitled “Coronavirus: meet the scientists who are now household names” discusses how medical experts found themselves in the ‘Covid-19 spotlight.'” Speaking of Dr. Fauci, correspondent Jon Henley writes “Anthony Fauci has earned praise from the US public for telling the truth about coronavirus, even when it means contradicting the president” (Henley).

A new term was added to the dating lexicon in February 2021. To “Fauci” someone is to cut off a relationship with a person who doesn’t take social distancing or the pandemic seriously as this Twitter interview with Dr. Fauci confirms:

Social Media Trends as of May 1, 2022

Facebook #fauci: 53,000 people are posting about this
Instagram #fauci: 103,174 posts
TikTok #fauci: 322.2 million views
YouTube #fauci: 4,000 videos and 1,600 channels

Google Trends: dr fauci achieved peak popularity during the week of October 25, 2020.

dr fauci search term

Sources

“Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., NIAID Director.” National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. URL: https://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/director.

HBO Documentaries. “AXIOS on HBO: Dr. Anthony Fauci (Promo) | HBO.” Twitter. February 14, 2021. URL: https://twitter.com/HBODocs/status/1360997229557936128?ref_src=twsrc^tfw.

Categories
Pandemic Vaccine Virus

Double-vaxxed and triple-vaxxed

If you’ve had two Covid vaccines already, from either Moderna or Pfizer (or a combination of both), you have been double vaxxed. If you’ve had the booster you are triple vaxxed. Or triple jabbed. They’ll be a blog post for double jabbed and triple jabbed in due course.

There is an entry in the Collins Dictionary for “double vaxxed which is defined as “having received two vaccinations against a disease Also: double-jabbed.”

The Cambridge Dictionary’s definition for double vaxxed along with some examples is as follows: “having received two vaccinations against a disease, especially Covid-19:

-She wasn’t worried about Covid because she was double-vaxxed.
-Only double-vaxxed people were allowed into the country.”

A cursory search for “double vaxxed” revealed the following headlines:

The National Post – January 26, 2022: “Survey finds a growing divide between double-vaxxed and boosted people” (Osman).

The New Straits Times – April 21, 2022: “Over half a million children double vaxxed against Covid-19” (Basyir).

I did not find a dictionary entry for the term “triple vaxxed” but it does appear in many online news articles such as the one published for The New Zealand Herald on 8 April 2022. Entitled “Covid 19 Omicron: Triple-vaxxed journalist Tracey Spicer crushed by long Covid,” the article reports on the Australian journalist, who, despite being double jabbed and boosted, contracted the omicron variant of Covid-19 that left her bedridden for a couple of weeks, with a severe cough, fatigue and chest pain (New Zealand Herald).

A January 14, 2022 article published for Slate magazine and entitled “So You’re Triple-Vaxxed and Still Got COVID. Now What?” contains a sobering reminder that even with two vaccines and a booster your protection against Covid-19 may only be good for a few months before another mutant variant appears that is vaccine resistant (Palus).

Social Media Trends as of April 29, 2022

Facebook #doublevaxxed: 6,600 people are posting about this
Instagram #doublevaxxed: 11,089 posts
TikTok #doublevaxxed: 14.8 million views
YouTube #doublevaxxed: less than 100 videos and channels

Facebook #triplevaxxed: 1,800 people are posting about this
Instagram #triplevaxxed: 2,372 posts
TikTok #triplevaxxed: 5.1 million views

Google Trends: double vaxxed wasn’t even a blip until the week of April 4, 2021 when vaccines started to become widely available. The level of interest peaked during the week of October 17, 2021 when the booster shots were being recommended. The popularity went down to almost where it was a year ago. triple vaxxed did not register any interest until the week of August 8, 2021 when the government discussed the rollout of the third vaccine, known as a booster. The omicron variant spread rapidly throughout the fall of 2021 with the result that the triple vaxxed search term peaked during the week of December 18 when people were lining up to get their booster shot.

double vaxxed search term
triple vaxxed search term

Sources

Basyir, Mohamed. “Over half a million children double vaxxed against Covid-19.” The New Straits Times. April 21, 2022. URL: https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2022/04/790599/over-half-million-children-double-vaxxed-against-covid-19.

“Covid 19 Omicron: Triple-vaxxed journalist Tracey Spicer crushed by long Covid.” New Zealand Herald. 8 April 2022. URL: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/covid-19-omicron-triple-vaxxed-journalist-tracey-spicer-crushed-by-long-covid/UHP4CTAZX3WGWGZ6NXTJLGGWDI/.

“Double vaxxed.” Cambridge Dictionary. URL: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/double-vaxxed.

“Double vaxxed.” Collins Dictionary. URL: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/double-vaxxed.

Osman, Laura. “Survey finds a growing divide between double-vaxxed and boosted people.” National Post. The Canadian Press. January 26, 2022. URL: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/survey-reveals-widening-gap-between-views-of-double-vaxxed-and-boosted-people.

Palus, Shannon. “So You’re Triple-Vaxxed and Still Got COVID. Now What?” Slate. January 14, 2022. URL: https://slate.com/technology/2022/01/covid-immunity-triple-vaccinated-omicron.html.

Categories
Pandemic Vaccine Virus

Vaxxed and unvaxxed

To vax, or not to vax? The answer to this question is beyond the scope of this blog. Whether you are for or against vaccination, these two terms have entered the Covid lexicon.

Only the Urban Dictionary had an entry for vaxxed/vaxed: “When you have received a vaccination you are / have been vaxed.
– I better see you guys vaxed up so we can party soon.“

I had more luck finding unvaxxed in a dictionary. Merriam Webster’s definition is “not having received a vaccine : unvaccinated
– unvaxxed students
– New York City’s Covid vaccine mandate has barred the unvaxxed NBA superstar from entering Brooklyn’s home arena on game days.“

An article published on September 13, 2021 for CNBC news had both terms appearing together in the title: “As many return to the office, tensions flare between the ‘vaxxed and unvaxxed.’” Columnist Holly Ellyatt writes: “Now, as many employees return to their offices, tensions appear to be emerging along new lines: those who are vaccinated against Covid, and those who are not. In the U.S. in particular, companies have taken a rigorous approach toward employees’ Covid vaccination status, with many announcing that their staff must be fully vaccinated in order to return to the workplace.”

A news article entitled “The political divide between the vaxxed and unvaxxed is widening, according to new report” appeared in Fortune.com on September 28, 2021 and discussed the differing views of vaccines and boosters depending on whether you consider yourself a Democrat or a Republican (Alsever).

A YouTube video clip posted on May 18, 2021 discusses the Red Wings taking on the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Seating is allocated at 50% for vaccinated individuals, who must show photo Id and proof of vaccination, and unvaccinated people get the other 50% (News 8 WROC).


Social Media Trends as of April 28, 2022

Facebook #vaxxed: 38,000 people are posting about this
Instagram #vaxed: 6,600 posts
TikTok #vaxxed: 96.7 million views
YouTube #vaxxed: 1,000 videos; 256 channels

Facebook #unvaxxed: 2,500 people are posting about this
Instagram #unvaxed: 1,160 posts
TikTok #unvaxxed: 102.5 million views
YouTube #unvaxxed: less than 100 videos and channels

Google Trends: vaxxed didn’t get much traction till the week of May 9, 2021 when Covid vaccines became widely available. The term peaked in popularity during Christmas 2021 and the first week of 2022.
unvaxxed did not register as a search term until the second week of May 2021 and slowly moved up in popularity as many businesses enforced vaccine mandates. The term peaked during the week of January 9, 2022.

vaxxed search term
unvaxxed search term

Sources

Alsever, Jennifer. “The political divide between the vaxxed and unvaxxed is widening, according to new report.” Fortune.com. September 28, 2021. URL: https://fortune.com/2021/09/28/the-political-divide-between-the-vaxxed-and-unvaxxed-is-widening-according-to-new-report/.

Ellyatt, Holly. “As many return to the office, tensions flare between the ‘vaxxed and unvaxxed.’” CNBC.com. September 13, 2021. URL: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/13/office-tensions-rise-between-the-vaccinated-and-unvaccinated-.html.

Jflo2000. “Vaxed.” Urban Dictionary. March 16, 2021. URL: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Vaxxed.

“Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders New PNC Field.” News 8 WROC. YouTube. May 18, 2021. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKdbKJV2eO0.

“Unvaxxed.” Merriam Webster Dictionary. URL: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unvaxxed.

Categories
Pandemic Vaccine Virus

Vax

Vax is short for vaccine and can also be spelled “vaxx.” It’s not a new word and was first recorded in English in 1799. It’s derivative words, “vaccinate” and “vaccination” appeared in the year 1800.

Collins Dictionary defines vax as: “short for vaccine: a substance put into a person’s body to prevent them getting a disease.”

Lexicographers at Oxford English Dictionary chose “vax” as Word of the Year for 2021. A BBC News article writing about this said: “Words related to vaccines have spiked in frequency in 2021 due to Covid, with double-vaxxed, unvaxxed and anti-vaxxer all seeing a surge in use. OED senior editor Fiona McPherson says vax was an obvious choice as it has made ‘the most striking impact’. ‘It goes back at least to the 1980s, but according to our corpus it was rarely used until this year. When you add to that its versatility in forming other words – vaxxie, vax-a-thon, vaxinista – it became clear that vax was the standout in the crowd.’ Vax and vaxx are both accepted spellings but the form with one x is more common.“

The word appears frequently in news articles. A cursory search of the news using Google found an article entitled: “Dozens of NYC educators placed on leave for alleged fake vax cards” that was published on April 21, 2022 in the New York Times.

“Blue Bombers drop vax mandate, but are they dropping the ball?” is the title of an article that appears in the Winnipeg Sun for April 25, 2022.

2021 Word of the Year

Social Media Trends as of April 26, 2022

Facebook #vax: 19,000 people are posting about this
Instagram #vax: 103,561 posts
TikTok #vax: 328.5 million views
YouTube #vax: 1,600 videos; 672 channels

Google Trends: I set the analytical search tool to the beginning of 2004 for vax. It peaked in popularity during the month of October 2021.

vax search term

Sources

Bamberger, Cayla. “Dozens of NYC educators placed on leave for alleged fake vax cards.” The New York Times. April 21, 2022. URL: https://nypost.com/2022/04/21/nyc-eddozens-of-nyc-educators-placed-on-leave-for-alleged-fake-vax-cardsucators-placed-on-leave-for-alleged-fake-vax-.cards/.

Friesen, Paul. “Blue Bombers drop vax mandate, but are they dropping the ball?” Winnipeg Sun. April 25, 2022. URL: https://winnipegsun.com/sports/football/blue-bombers-drop-vax-mandate-but-are-they-dropping-the-ball.

urbanbuzz. “VAX Oxford English Dictionary word of the year.” Shutterstock.com. Standard License. Royalty-free stock vector ID: 2067447635.

“Vax.” Cambridge Dictionary. May 11, 2020. URL: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Maskhole.

“Vax declared Oxford English Dictionary’s word of the year.” BBC News. 1 November 2021. URL: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-59089596.

Categories
Pandemic Virus

Quarantini

Two years of lockdown is a long time, especially for those who enjoy life’s little pleasures. Bars and pubs were closed during the pandemic because they were deemed non-essential businesses. So what’s a chap to do with a hankering for an adult beverage?

Enter the Quarantini. The Macmillan dictionary defines this as “a cocktail drunk while socially distancing.” An interesting factoid is that quarantini is not a new term. The above source mentions that “the word itself made its first appearance 15 years ago, in an episode of US medical comedy series Scrubs. Character Danni Sullivan asks ‘Quarantinis anyone?’ during lockdown of the intensive care unit because of a potential SARS threat.”

Some of the earliest quarantini recipes were published at the beginning of lockdown. An article named “10 ‘Quarantinis’ to Drink While Social Distancing” appeared in Town and Country magazine on March 23, 2020. Columnist Lauren Hubbard writes: “We may not be able to head to our favorite bars for a drink these days, but social distancing doesn’t mean we have to give up on a top-notch cocktail hour. In the name of making your solo cocktail session special, we’ve rounded up some of the tastiest (and easiest) “quarantinis” to enjoy while standing at least six feet away from other people.

For a health, immunity-boosting cocktail that only takes 5 minutes to prepare, look no further than the Lemon Martini Quarantini. This may be one of the earliest coronvirus pandemic recipes published and appears in a post for the The Novice Chef Blog on March 13, 2020. Author Jessica Segarra touts the exciting benefits of this drink: “The alcohol kills the germs. The local honey and lemon boosts your immunity. And the optional added pack of emergency vitamin c – that can also be used to rim the glass – is just an added bonus!“

On April 17, 2020, YouTube channel Tasty featured a Quarantini Challenge during their virtual happy hour. Contestants had to make their own unique quarantini using 5 ingredients in their fridge and pantry. Ice did not count.

Quarantini Challenge

Social Media Trends as of April 24, 2022

Facebook #quarantini: 21,000 people are posting about this
Instagram #quarantini: 110,061 posts as of April 24, 2022
TikTok #quarantini: 36 million views
YouTube #quarantini: 288 videos; 122 channels

Google Trends: quarantini reached its peak in April 2020.

quarantini search term

Sources:

designergraphic84. “Quarantini bar sign.” Shutterstock.com. Standard License. Royalty-free stock vector ID: 1709264158.

Hubbard, Lauren. “10 “Quarantinis” to Drink While Social Distancing.” Town and Country Magazine. March 23, 2020. URL: https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/drinks/g31900654/quarantini-cocktail-recipes/.

“Quarantini”. Macmillan Dictionary. 27 March 2020. URL: https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/quarantini.

“Quarantini Challenge 4 Ways • Tasty.” YouTube. April 17, 2020. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFAF2RojfQg.

Segarra, Jessica. “Quarantini Cocktail.” The Novice Chef Blog. March 13, 2020. https://thenovicechefblog.com/quarantini/.

Categories
Pandemic Virus

Quaranteam

Prolonged isolation under lockdown can cause depression especially if you’re a teenage, live alone or are elderly. After being without human contact for considerable lengths of time, some people decided to form their own small bubble of people they could socialize with that didn’t interact with other “bubbles” outside their group. Quaranteams can consist of friends, family or Covid free neighbors that spend quality time together.

Quaranteam soon became a pandemic era word and appears in a few online dictionaries. Cambridge Dictionary lists quaranteam under their “New Words” blog post for 7 September 2020 to mean “a group of people who go into quarantine together.

Quaranteams, therefore, are not simply a convenient idea because they let people see their friends and family. Isolation poses serious health risks – both physically and mentally – that social bubbles can help alleviate while improving social well-being and quality of life. [theconversation.com, 17 June 2020]”

The Urban Dictionary’s entry for quaranteam is: “The people you choose to live with during a coronavirus quarantine. My girlfriend lives by herself, so my roommates and I have included her in our quaranteam.“


The online magazine Inverse gives 5 tips to consider when forming your quaranteam:

1. Quaranteaming is not risk-free.

2. Your group must make rules and adhere to them. This can only be done with extremely high levels of trust.

3. This situation is probably going to last longer than you think.

4. Smaller groups are better.

5. The urge to “quaranteam” is natural.

Betuel

Perhaps the most important piece of advice from the above quoted article is this: “Quaranteaming is not a way to get around social distancing, nor is it even a version of normality, experts say. You are signing up to live in a strictly governed social experiment that will require a huge amount of responsibility and trust.“

On March 11, 2021 Twitter user Pharmbills published a humorous tweet about quaranteaming.


Social Media Trends as of May 17, 2022

Facebook #quaranteam: 82,000 people are posting about this
Instagram #quaranteam: 176,045 posts
TikTok #quaranteam: 41.3 million views
YouTube #quaranteam: 960 videos and 425 channels

Google Trends: quaranteam first appeared during the week of March 15, 2020 coinciding with the time that lockdown mandates were beginning to be put in place. The term which its peak of interest during April 2020 and faded away by March of the following year.

quaranteam search term

Sources:

Betuel, Emma. “Quarantine with friends? 5 tips experts say to consider.” Inverse. May 8, 2020. URL: https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/quaranteam.

Faquat. “Quaranteam”. The Urban Dictionary. March 21, 2020. URL: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Quaranteam.

Musjaka. “Quaranteam social logo and text to stay at home. Coronavirus quarantine, virus in quarantine to prevent infection.” Shutterstock.com. Standard License. Royalty-free stock vector ID: 1703917987.

Pharmbills. “New 2021 Dictionary: Quaranteam — a group of people who create a social circle during the COVID-19 pandemic, prohibiting interaction with others.” Twitter.com. March 11, 2021. URL: https://twitter.com/pharmbills/status/1369954986868809728.

“Quaranteam”. Cambridge Dictionary. 7 September 2020. URL: https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2020/09/07/new-words-7-september-2020/.

Categories
Pandemic Virus

Mask up

When mask mandates began in Spring 2020 everyone was encouraged to “mask up” and save lives. Wearing a mask reduced the transmission of Covid-19. Until recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation “[required] the wearing of face masks on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation.” There was even a toolkit on their website that contained “Multi-media assets, social media graphics and messages, and email content to help communicate to the traveling public online” the importance of wearing a mask.

The phrase “mask up” soon found its way into the dictionary. The Macmillan Dictionary’s definition is:
“to wear a mask or facecovering.
– That’s why we are asking all Hoosiers to mask up – and speak up about how wearing your mask can save lives.”

The Urban Dictionary’s definition of “mask up” is:
“A phrase used to tell people to put on their mask:
‘Hey Alex, mask up, man!’
‘Woah there tiger, mask up!
‘Mask up, kids, it’s time to go outside!'”

In an article last updated on February 9, 2021, the CDC encourages Americans to “Continue to ‘Mask Up’ to Help Stop the Spread of the Coronavirus. Austin Powers, Casablanca, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and others are reimagined with characters wearing face masks.”

Social Media Trends as of May 17, 2022

Facebook #maskup: 657,000 people are posting about this
Instagram #maskup: 1,488,539 posts
TikTok #maskup: 780.5 million views
YouTube #maskup: 6,200 videos and 2,700 channels

Google Trends: mask up appeared during the week of March 22, 2020 and peaked during the week of July 12, 2020. By this time the pandemic was in full swing and federal, state and local governments had declared masked mandates and were encouraging everyone to “mask up.”

mask up search term

Sources:

buckshotboi. “Mask up.” The Urban Dictionary. August 25, 2020. URL: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Mask%20Up.

stockmatic. “Man wear face mask vector. Vector Wear Face Mask sign. Warning sign recommend wear of protective face mask in prevention vs virus infection in health care. Coronavirus protection mask.” Shutterstock.com. Standard License. Royalty-free stock vector ID: 1732942073.

“Mask up.” Macmillian Dictionary. 15 July 2020. URL: https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/mask-up.

“Mask up.” The U.S. Department of Transportation. URL: https://www.transportation.gov/maskup.

“Mask Up America.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. February 9, 2021. URL: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/mask-up-america.html.