The ReMarker | February 2021

Continued from page 1

Coming to terms

Negative. Positive. A trip to the hospital. After Blake Backes’s mom fell ill, COVID-19 quickly spread through his family, landing his father in the hospital and Blake in his bedroom, eating sandwhiches he couldn’t taste.

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Surplus in a national shortage While the nation tries to move past a failed initial vaccine rollout, with the number of vaccinated Americans lagging behind national goals, Jayan Joshi ‘19 found a way to put a garbage-bound vaccine to good use.

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he concept of a vaccine rollout seems simple –– give it first to healthcare workers and those whom COVID-19 would hurt most, and roll out the rest through a system of ranked groups afterward.

But as with any logistical undertaking on such a massive scale, reality can be counterintuitive at best, nightmarish at worst. Jayan Joshi ’19 was one of the first to receive a vaccine, though by sheer luck.

“One of my friend’s parents was able to get the vaccine because he was a healthcare worker,” Joshi said, “and when he went, the hospital was telling people, ‘We only have a certain amount of shelf life for the vaccines.’”

A Pfizer or Moderna vaccine can last up to six months when frozen, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but once a case of the vaccine is opened, it is only a matter of days before the shots –– which cannot be refrozen –– might expire.

“They’re telling people that they’re going to either throw them out or give them to somebody,” Joshi said, “and there weren’t enough health care workers that could take the vaccine, so one of my friends texted me about it, and I was able to go and get my

vaccine.”

Joshi first performed a background check on the clinic to affirm that this offer was reasonable, following doubts about the vaccine rollout process that have existed since its beginning.

“But it turned out to be legit,” Joshi said.

“So we just had to call the place, set up an appointment and then drive to the clinic to get our shots. It was a really simple process, but it all felt a bit rushed.”

While the civic accountability of receiving a vaccine concerned Joshi at first, he reconciled with the fact that the vaccine, owing to its shelf life, could not have gone to somebody who was more in need of it at that moment.

“At the time, I wasn’t really sure how ethically responsible it was,” Joshi said. “But they explained to me that either I got this or they were going to get thrown out.

The people at the clinic were begging them to tell anyone to come and get the vaccine because they just wanted to

get as many people vaccinated as possible before the vaccines were useless. I came to terms with that once I realized that I wasn’t Jayan taking a vaccine away Joshi ‘19 from someone else.”

For Joshi, a great deal of the issue lies in the process of reaching out and advertising the vaccine to those who would stand to benefit from immunization most, instead of those who happen to be connected to the clinics themselves.

“I think this shows that the whole thing is pretty disorganized,” Joshi said. “The fact that I was able to get one ahead of somebody who may have needed it more is pretty ridiculous, in my opinion. Obviously, I’m glad that I got it. But I don’t think that people like me should have been able to, at this point in time.

I think that the clinics need to Vaccination do a much better sites job of reaching • Fair Park out and actually • Parkland Hospital getting people • UT-Southwestern Medical that need the Center vaccine to take them, rather than scrambling at the last minute.”

STORY Jamie Mahowald ARTWORK Jamie Mahowald

The ReMarker

STORY Henry McElhaney, Robert Pou PHOTOS Courtesy Blake Backes

5 Issues

how he would make quick trips to the kitchen in between classes, making his go-to quarantine snack — the Dagwood sandwich: a cartoon-like, multilayered sandwich piled high with meats, cheeses and condiments.

He felt like the world was just flowing by him. He was lethargic, sick, bored, tired and still couldn’t taste or smell. But he snapped out of his zombielike state when his father, who had slowly progressed from bed-ridden to fully indisposed, woke up with a 104.5 degree fever. That’s when Jane — still ill — had to drive Leon to Presbyterian Hospital, where he was immediately put on a ventilator.

Blake couldn’t visit his father for three days after he was admitted because of the hospital’s safety guidelines. During that time, everything felt surreal. He was scared. His assignments due later that week didn’t seem to matter much anymore.

Eventually, Leon recovered enough to come home. He had to stay on a portable ventilator, but Blake was finally reunited with his father. His life felt real again.

Normal –– or at least as normal as it could be at the tail-end of 2020.

Now, Blake and his family are back to full health. Blake still can’t quite smell QUARANTINED Blake and his mother Jane both tested positve for COVID-19 but only had to quarantine at home. everything, but his family is COVID-free.

They recovered without seeking serious medical help.

And for that, Blake is thankful.

February 5, 2021

t all started when Blake Backes’s mom, Jane, tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after Thanksgiving Break.

Already home from school, Blake and his dad, Leon, immediately got rapid tests.

Both negative.

Jane quarantined in the back house, and Blake and his father brought her food, water and medicine, making sure to put on gloves and a mask each time.

The next day, Blake and his father began experiencing symptoms. Again, they went to get tested.

This time, Leon tested positive, Blake still negative.

Now both of his parents had the virus.

He didn’t. Blake was the one who had to isolate and stay up in his room all day. He didn’t mind since he didn’t want to leave his bed anyway. He knew he had it. He knew it was only a matter of time before it was “official.”

Sure enough, after testing for a third time, Blake finally got a positive result.

His symptoms weren’t too bad; it just seemed like a mild flu, but he did end up losing his taste and smell after a couple days. Blake spent most of his days trapped in his room, on his computer, on Microsoft Teams. Time began to blur as the tasteless, scentless days in his stuffy room grew into a mind-numbingly monotonous routine.

He fondly remembered what online school used to be like. Remembered how he would sit in the study downstairs, his mother working nearby. Remembered

HOSPITALIZED Blake Backes’s father, Leon, spent time in Presbyterian Hospital after his COVID symptoms took a serious turn for the worse.

He wasn’t able to see his family while hospitalized because of the hospital’s health and safety guidlines.