Document Type
Portfolio
Publication Date
2020
Abstract
When COVID-19 arrived in the United States in March of 2020, most of the country was unprepared for the virus's severe nature. A collective mental state seized the public with a hard-to-fathom health emergency that bewildered most adults who have not witnessed during their lifetime. The closest parallels would be the HIV/AIDS pandemic that became embedded in the cultural mindset of 1985; however, once scientists and researchers identified the medical realities of HIV/AIDS, they could educate the populace with appropriate prevention mandates. With rare exceptions, this was not a disease that touched children, except a schoolyard taunt in the years following. Telling a peer "they have AIDS" was a derogatory message meaning the child was "gay" and "dirty." The idea of one who contracts a disease was then identifiable as a social negative, one that still permeates the culture. A program that educates school-age children about the realities of COVID-19 and instills in them prevention knowledge will be controversial, but necessary, to prevent a generation of traumatized children. With the constant repetition of school shooter drills, children have proven to be resilient. COVID-19 education and preventative measures will require providers to build on this resilience.
