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Jan 13, 2022Liked by Hitha Palepu

I hope Omicron has peaked! Fingers are crossed. Re: Obama-era pop culture, this Gen X reader finds the Vox take ridiculous, though ridiculously on-brand. Pop culture is by definition dated, and does not resonate in the same way as time goes on. But the Millennial quest to be offended is apparently a permanent feature and “so, so cringe.”

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I’m cringing at this very accurate description 🤦🏽‍♀️

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Jan 13, 2022Liked by Hitha Palepu

I hope it’s peaked. My whole family is home with COVID. Adults are vaxxed and boosted, 5 year old vaxxed and 1 year old isn’t. 1 year old got it after ONE week in daycare. 😔😔😔

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I'm so so so sorry. It appears to have peaked in the places hit first by Omicron, but it's also important to remember that we were in the middle of a long Delta wave when Omicron hit.

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I was SO excited to get vaccinated a year ago - I had left the house less than 5 times since the pandemic started at that point, and I felt physical relief after my first shot. But now… I feel like I’m right back in Decemeber of 2020. I don’t know what’s safe for me - I’m fully vaxxed and boosted, but as someone with incredibly weak lungs, a mild case could still hospitalize me. And this time around, people are taking less and less precautions. Pittsburgh doesn’t even have any sort of mask mandate! It’s impossible to find caregivers, and even if I could, it feels risky to introduce new people into my care routine right now because the positivity rates are just SO high, and I can’t control what people do once they leave my home.

And obviously - hearing the CDC director say that it was reassuring that only people with comirbidiities were dying? Not very reassuring to me. Also not reassuring to hear her say that those people were “not well to begin with.” It’s really concerning to think that the stigma against living as a disabled person extends alllll the way up the CDC! Being healthy shouldn’t be a value judgement or a determination of worthiness.

I just wish we’d build guidelines that did protect the most vulnerable and at-risk, understanding that if we do that, we’ll also protect the general public. Trying to carve out exceptions never works.

Clearly - I have lots and lots to say about this!

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Thank you so much for sharing your perspectives! Public health policy and messaging should be centered around you first, and we need some minimum standard that every local and state health authority must comply with.

It IS life or death.

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Loved the Vox article. Fascinating that in addition to the political symbolism, much of the characteristics about beloved franchises also glorified worth ethic and hustle culture.

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How do we get your book adapted into a sitcom??? Also waiting for the screen adaptation of My Year Of Rest And Relaxation!

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