After talking with a few hundred people in the student unions at the University of Minnesota, it appears many do not believe COVID-19 is “over ” or it won’t affect them.
Rather than social distancing or masking, the majority of people have gone back to their pre-pandemic behaviors. I am writing to support the piece written on Oct. 19 “Return to In Person Work”, but there are some additional considerations I want to put forward. After hearing people on campus talk about COVID-19, my impression is people want to feel they can advocate for themselves and others when they feel sick by staying home.
I’m a student working with a faculty member from the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health on a project about vaccine hesitancy, collecting data about COVID-19, vaccinations, and masking. I spend around eight hours a week administering anonymous surveys at the Student Unions on both Saint Paul and East Bank campuses. You might assume a survey is just a question and response, but in order to learn what people really think I have been trained to ask the survey questions as if I am conducting an interview.
In other words, the survey responses are often summaries of brief conversations. This allows us to advance a second goal, which involves creating a space for people to talk and learn more about COVID-19.
Some common themes in the survey responses from people on the University campus are:
- In general, people most trust their doctor, followed by government agencies, like the CDC, and researchers to give them information about vaccines.
- While most people say that others are no longer concerned about COVID-19 they tell me that COVID-19 is still a potential issue.
- When asked about whether they currently wear a mask, some tell us they do not wear one at all anymore while others wear it when they are feeling sick, are going to a big event, going to the hospital, or traveling on a plane; many people indicated they would mask if they were asked.
- Not everybody knows about the new vaccine for fall 2023 or that it is available at Boynton.
Matisse Bolstrom is a fourth-year student employee with the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, who works to conduct surveys about perceptions of vaccines, COVID-19 and masking. A link to an ongoing study can be found here.
