Side Effects

A year into the pandemic, COVID-19 has put an enormous strain on healthcare systems — including the influx of COVID-19 patients, staffing shortages and budget crunches. Hospitals and healthcare workers reflect on living with COVID a year after it came to dominate out lives.

April Hendrickson is a resource nurse at University Hospital and Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. She spoke with Side Effect’s Public Media’s Darian Benson about how she found strength in her faith while working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the past year, Dr. Lauren Graham has been the COVID-19 coordinator at the Grinnell Regional Medical Center in Grinnell, Iowa. She spoke to Side Effects Public Media’s Natalie Krebs about what she’s learned one year into the pandemic.

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayra Ramirez contracted the virus and ended up in the ICU on life support. She was 28. The virus had severely damaged her lungs and doctors concluded she would not survive without a double-lung transplant.

It's been a year since the COVID crisis started to dominate our lives. To mark that milestone, our journalists revisited their reporting and collected some significant moments.

Many Midwest states are now weeks into distributing coronavirus vaccines to residents who are 65 or older. With demand still far outstripping supply, many seniors have struggled to get an appointment and are frustrated. And some worry the most vulnerable residents could be left behind.

With COVID-19 limiting gatherings, the Westside Community Development Corp. had to get creative for a recent wellness event. So it hosted a Health and Wealth event on Facebook to provide information on public health topics, including the vaccines. There were discussions with representatives from organizations such as local health departments, as well as live music performances.

Across the Midwest, the rollout of COVID vaccines has been spotty. Lots of people are having a trouble with online signups. And vaccine demand far exceeds supply. That’s made the process challenging, especially in rural areas.

As the COVID vaccine rollout continues, Midwesterners have a lot of questions about distribution plans — and the vaccine itself. One state is getting help from a surprising place: public libraries.

The COVID-19 vaccines hold promise for ending the pandemic, and millions of Americans have received at least one shot. But 39% aren’t likely to get a vaccine, according to a December study from the Pew Research Center. One of the main reasons: a lack of trust in the research and development process. Side Effects asked two scientists at Southern Illinois University’s School of Medicine about those reservations.

Johnson Simon, a painter and professor who has cerebral palsy, had his career plan interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. He spoke to Seth Johnson about his passion for teaching in an audio diary project for our Move to Include series.

Fairs and festivals play an important role in the culture and economy of communities across the Midwest. But the continued prevalence of COVID-19 could put them in jeopardy again in 2021.

As a person who likes to stay busy, Chelsea Davis had a hard time adjusting when COVID shut down her places of employment and volunteering. Seth Johnson interviewed her for Side Effects Public Media as part of an audio diary project for our Move to Include series.

Andrew Peterson isn’t one to stay still, but he’s had to get creative since COVID cancelled the marathons and competitions he’d normally be running in. Seth Johnson interviewed him and his father for Side Effects Public Media as part of an audio diary project for our Move to Include series.

What does an entertainment journalist do when he can’t cover events? Seth Johnson talks about his experience learning new skills — including creating radio diaries for Side Effects — during the pandemic. Part 1 of our Move to Include series on how people with disabilities are coping during this nationwide public health crisis.

Lea este artículo en español aquí . For more than a decade, Saraí has been a farmworker, cultivating corn and soybeans in the fields of central Illinois. She moved to the U.S. from Mexico to find work that would allow her to better support her family.

The work that people in public health do is often not very visible. It’s usually focused on long-term impacts like improving maternal health and encouraging flu shots. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. last spring, public health workers were thrown into the spotlight seemingly overnight. And this sudden shift has taken a huge toll on them.

As soon as COVID-19 hit, there was a massive jump in telemedicine visits. A Centers for Disease Control study found that in March 2020 there was a 154% increase compared to the previous year. Now it’s clear the coronavirus has dramatically changed the way Americans get medical care. But some of these virtual options remain out of reach for the most vulnerable populations, like seniors.

At Riley Hospital for Children there's been a jump in emergency room visits related to mental health and suicide. From March to December, these visits increased 61 percent compared to the same months in 2019. Hilary Blake, a psychologist at the Indianapolis hospital, says there is a mental health crisis in Indiana.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for Midwestern school districts as they balance their students’ education and safety. At the forefront are school nurses, who are responsible for screening kids for COVID-19, notifying parents and even contact tracing. And that’s on top of their regular duties.