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Bella Ulloa

Professor Ana Mendoza

ENGL 1302-211

9 March 2024

COVID changed the world

COVID-19 has changed the world in every single aspect. COVID-19 is a respiratory

virus that took over the world in an instant. One case turned into hundreds, then thousands, then

millions, killing people in the process. This virus has changed everything. Different

environments include hospitals, schools, financials due to people losing their jobs because of

quarantine, and a new vaccine. Hospitals needed new beds. Schools went online. Financially, a

majority of the U.S was struggling. The vaccine had its different opinions and views. COVID has

made the world evolve in almost every aspect

RAND Corporation says, “Strategies might include turning regular hospital beds into

ICU beds, using open ICU beds in the Veterans Health Administration and other federal or non

civilian facilities, using ICU beds in mobile hospitals, and reopening shuttered hospitals” (2).

This quote explains what the hospital staff did in an effort to keep away the infected from the

uninfected. COVID has been known to be a very contagious and deadly virus. For the patients

sake, hospital staff decided to start turning regular beds into ICU beds to be able to prepare

themselves to take in more infected patients to provide them with clinical care. The World

Health Organization explains, “Reduce mortality by providing appropriate clinical care for

individuals affected by COVID-19, ensuring the continuity of essential health and social services

and protecting frontline workers and vulnerable populations” (1). Clinical care requires
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diagnosing or treatment. In this case, hospitalization. The quote illuminates the importance of

clinical care in patients who have been infected.

Additionally, Nat Malkus, Cody Christensen, and Jessicca explain “The rapid spread of

COVID-19 left many educators unprepared” (1). The virus is highly contagious, spreading across

the globe in less than a year. COVID-19 had taken over the world in an instant leaving the world

no time to prepare for the pandemic. As a result, schools had to go on lockdown to prevent the

spread. Marshall, David T. demonstrates, “However, what took place this spring was no ordi-

nary transition, and what occurred wasn’t online instruction per se — it is more accurate to

describe it as emergency remote teaching (ERT), defined as “a temporary shift of instructional

delivery to an alternate delivery mode due to crisis circum-stances” (qtd. in Hodges et al., 2020) ”

(47). Marshall adds on to what had been illuminated by Malkus, Christensen, and Jessica had

explained. Schools had not been prepared for a pandemic to be so quick to arrogate the entire

globe. The spread of COVID had been extremely rapid which left the world unprepared for the

extreme changes that would be done across the globe.

Not only did schools change, so did jobs. The work environment had to also go through

drastic changes. Any work occupations that involve being in the presence of other people are at

high risk of getting COVID or spreading the virus. Jobs that are at high risk of spread include

any meat processing environments, office jobs, and gyms (3). To prevent further spreading,

World Health Organization elucidates, “Policies that encourage ill workers to self-isolate through

income support programs, furlough and quarantine policies were found to be effective in

preventing workplace outbreaks (69) (70) (71). Interventions that limit workplace social

interaction and reduce workplace density were effective in decreasing infection rates (51) (72)

(73) (74) (75)” (4). The World Health Organization illuminates the importance of taking
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precautions by implementing policies that will keep further contamination. As mentioned,

COVID has changed the world. Carlo Altomonte, Maria Demertzis, Lionel Fontagné, and

Steffen Müller explain the financial situation in the European country, Italy. “In Italy, firms that

were less productive before COVID-19 faced higher risk of default during the pandemic” (5).

The authors reveal that COVID was not just a simple virus, it affected not only people’s but

company's financials.

Undoubtedly, the new vaccine had some people question the effectiveness and whether it

should be mandatory. The COVID vaccine had been developed within a year when the pandemic

started leaving some people in suspicion whether it should be mandatory to get it or not. Khor

Swee Kheng and Nurul Ezzaty Hasbullah explain the importance of raising public trust to help

make the vaccine mandatory. The authors illustrate, “This includes increasing education and

correcting or preventing false information on social media, all underpinned by the equitable

availability and accessibility of vaccines” (01). The authors explain that to get the public’s trust,

it is important to provide education on the vaccine and put a stop to spreading false information

around on any form of network. Then comes the distribution of the vaccine. Authors Kaitlin

Hunter and David Kendall explain, “They are focused on key issues like who should be

considered essential workers, what underlying health conditions in vulnerable patients should be

taken into account, what living environments—such as nursing homes and homeless shelters—

put people at the highest risk, and should they prioritize people of color” (5). Adding on to the

trust of the public, the authors focus on how it is important to figure out the importance of who

gets the vaccine first, and how fast it is distributed.

COVID is a respiratory virus that has taken over the world in less than a year. COVID

has changed different environments such as hospitals, schools, and financials. While all this was
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unfolding, the vaccine had been created in less than a year after the pandemic struck. COVID has

made the world evolve in every aspect. Hospitals had to make new beds. Schools went online

which affected students. Financially, most people were struggling. The vaccine had its own

problems such as controversy and the distribution process.

Works Cited

Altomonte, Carlo, et al. COVID-19 Financial Aid and Productivity: Has Support Been Well
Spent? Bruegel, 2021. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep38514. Accessed 3 Mar. 2024.

Hein, Wolfgang, and Anne Paschke. Access to COVID-19 Vaccines and Medicines – a Global
Public Good. German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), 2020. JSTOR,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep25695. Accessed 3 Mar. 2024.

Hunter, Kaitlin, and David Kendall. Equitable and Efficient Distribution of a COVID-19
Vaccine. Third Way, 2020. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep25616. Accessed 3 Mar.
2024.

Kheng, Khor Swee, and Nurul Ezzaty Hasbullah. Should COVID-19 Vaccines Be Mandatory?
Institute of Strategic and International Studies, 2020. JSTOR,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep29705. Accessed 3 Mar. 2024

Malkus, Nat, et al. School District Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Round 6, Ending the
Year of School Closures. American Enterprise Institute, 2020. JSTOR,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep25360. Accessed 1 Mar. 2024.

Marshall, David T., et al. “How Teachers Experienced the COVID-19 Transition to Remote
Instruction.” The Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 102, no. 3, 2020, pp. 46–50. JSTOR,
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26977191. Accessed 3 Mar. 2024

RAND Corporation. Critical Care Surge Capacity in U.S. Hospitals: Strategies for Responding
to the COVID-19 Pandemic. RAND Corporation, 2020. JSTOR,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep24272. Accessed 1 Mar. 2024.
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World Health Organization. Critical Preparedness, Readiness and Response Actions for
COVID-19: Interim Guidance. World Health Organization, 2020. JSTOR,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep28214. Accessed 1 Mar. 2024.

World Health Organization. Preventing and Mitigating COVID-19 at Work: Policy Brief. World
Health Organization, 2021. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep33228. Accessed 3 Mar.
2024.