1 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,320 Speaker 1: Good morning, peeps in, and welcome to okay F Daily 2 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 1: with Meet your Girl Danielle Moody, recording from the Home Bunker. 3 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:23,000 Speaker 1: You know, folks, for close to three years, it'll be 4 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:26,680 Speaker 1: three years when we hit March twenty twenty three, we 5 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:31,880 Speaker 1: have been living with a global health pandemic. In a 6 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: global health pandemic, we've been living and expected to work 7 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: and continue to go about life as quote unquote normal. 8 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:51,280 Speaker 1: And my guest today has co founded an organization called 9 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:58,120 Speaker 1: Marked by COVID. Kristen or Kisa, lost not only her 10 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:06,319 Speaker 1: father but four other members of her family. And what's 11 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:12,679 Speaker 1: really troubling as we were going through our conversation is 12 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 1: the purposeful erasure and gaslighting that has happened around COVID. Now, 13 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:24,959 Speaker 1: I don't want to lose sight of the fact that 14 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,480 Speaker 1: had it not been for the Biden administration, we probably 15 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: would have never received vaccines or had a large scale 16 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: nationwide vaccine rollout. If it had not been for Donald 17 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:43,479 Speaker 1: Trump and weaponizing our public health crisis and weaponizing COVID 18 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:50,600 Speaker 1: nineteen and pinning neighbor against neighbor, then we maybe possibly 19 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 1: wouldn't have ever lost over a million lives to COVID, 20 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: because by the time that the Biden administration came into office, 21 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: if you remember, they held a memorial for at that time, 22 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 1: January twenty twenty one, they held a memorial for the 23 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: four hundred thousand lives that had been lost to that date. 24 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:22,280 Speaker 1: The first six months of the Biden administration was about 25 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:26,920 Speaker 1: rolling out a vaccine, was about getting money to people 26 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:32,160 Speaker 1: who had been economically devastated by the loss of work 27 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: right the loss of homes. If you remember, we were 28 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 1: seeing on the news people in food lines that were 29 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 1: wrapped miles down the road. And yet I can't tell 30 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:53,800 Speaker 1: you the last time that I remember anyone on the 31 00:02:53,880 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: news in the papers talking about COVID nineteen. It's almost 32 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:03,120 Speaker 1: as if they want us to believe that it never happened, 33 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: that our lives shouldn't have been altered in the way 34 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 1: that they are. But by virtue of me coming to 35 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: you every day from my bunker knowing that there are 36 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: millions of Americans who still work remotely, if not more 37 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: than half of the time. Our entire workforce has been 38 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 1: reshaped and reimagined because of COVID. How we use or 39 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:36,120 Speaker 1: don't use public transportation, how we have turned over most 40 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 1: of our lives to Amazon right in our reliance for 41 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: goods and services every aspect, how we deal with the 42 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 1: fact that when we're in public and we hear somebody 43 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 1: cough or sneeze, the feelings of angsts or concern. While 44 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 1: there aren't as many people that still wear masks on 45 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:03,839 Speaker 1: a regular basis, mass won't be gone. I don't think 46 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:11,320 Speaker 1: ever from our society something that prior to the pandemic 47 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: we never saw here. So what does it mean to 48 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: work towards establishing a day of recognition, a COVID Memorial 49 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 1: Day that honors those that we've lost and all that 50 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: we have lost, that gives us a space and time 51 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 1: to deal with the collective trauma that we've experienced then 52 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:47,520 Speaker 1: continued to still experience. You know, the other day, I 53 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:50,279 Speaker 1: was saying to a friend of mine that I think 54 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 1: that I have started to develop a bit of agoraphobia. 55 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:58,039 Speaker 1: I used to be a person prior to the pandemic, 56 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 1: like everybody else, you know, totally fine taking really packed 57 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: subway cars, and you know, being that person that would 58 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: cram their way into a subway because I didn't want 59 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 1: to wait the fifteen twenty minutes for another one to come. 60 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:18,480 Speaker 1: A person that you know liked crowded spaces and you know, 61 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:22,680 Speaker 1: bars and restaurants, and you know, didn't mind sitting shoulder 62 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:26,440 Speaker 1: to shoulder with people like the energy that I experienced 63 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:33,240 Speaker 1: in those places. And over the last couple of years, 64 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: I have noticed that I have heightened anxiety when I 65 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:43,920 Speaker 1: am in public. I really, very rarely do I take 66 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: the subway because I don't have to because I work 67 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:53,640 Speaker 1: from home, and when I am in crowded spaces and places, 68 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 1: I tend to try and look for this space that 69 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:02,400 Speaker 1: has the most or around me and kind of stay 70 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:07,360 Speaker 1: at a distance from other people. Those are not habits 71 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:14,080 Speaker 1: that I had before the pandemic, and I find that 72 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:18,360 Speaker 1: there are days that I could, in fact not leave 73 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:25,040 Speaker 1: my house because I have become accustomed to working, eating, 74 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:29,480 Speaker 1: you know, kind of moving around my space, having all 75 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:32,040 Speaker 1: of the things that I need. I also have a 76 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: private outdoor space, so if there are days there are 77 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:39,320 Speaker 1: sometimes a week where I find that I haven't been 78 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:43,600 Speaker 1: outside in two days. I'm not saying that it's normal. 79 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: I don't think that it is. But what I recognize 80 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:52,320 Speaker 1: is the subtle ways in which living in a global 81 00:06:52,360 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: health pandemic has changed my personality, my demeanor, the way 82 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:04,039 Speaker 1: I show up in space and in place, how I 83 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:07,280 Speaker 1: kind of have to work myself up when I'm going 84 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:11,160 Speaker 1: to larger events because they're all back on people's calendars. 85 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 1: And so I think that it's really important to not 86 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 1: forget about COVID nineteen, not to forget about the loss 87 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:26,720 Speaker 1: that we've experienced, not to forget about the ways that 88 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:31,680 Speaker 1: our lives have been fundamentally changed, and not allow for politicians, 89 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:35,600 Speaker 1: whether they be the good Democrats or the White supremacist 90 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:40,160 Speaker 1: Nationalist Party, to kind of gaslight us into believing that 91 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:44,640 Speaker 1: all is okay. Now. There are millions of Americans that 92 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 1: are suffering from long COVID. There are millions of Americans 93 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 1: that are experiencing and continue to experience mental health and 94 00:07:55,080 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 1: emotional health issues and crises that we're not talking about 95 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:04,240 Speaker 1: or paying attention to. And I don't think that it's 96 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:06,720 Speaker 1: just because it's too hard. I think that people don't 97 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: want to. And I think that if we don't create 98 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: space and place and time in order to air out 99 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 1: those grievances, that grief, the stress, the anxiety, the pain 100 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,440 Speaker 1: that we are all holding, what happens to us in 101 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:30,240 Speaker 1: the long term So I'm really excited to bring to 102 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 1: you Kristen or Kisa's conversation on her quest, which I 103 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:45,720 Speaker 1: think should be a collective quest to make sure that 104 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:53,120 Speaker 1: the lives that were lost are remembered and that they mattered. 105 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 1: So coming up next my conversation with the co founder 106 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:05,720 Speaker 1: of a really important organization, friends that you know, I 107 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 1: never really say, you know, listen to this organization or 108 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:14,000 Speaker 1: others that kind of bring these conversations, but Marked by COVID, 109 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:18,200 Speaker 1: I think it's an important one, and their quest to 110 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:24,240 Speaker 1: memorialize this experience, this collective trauma that we have had, 111 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:28,440 Speaker 1: I think is needed and to make sure that, as 112 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:33,440 Speaker 1: Kristen says in the episode, that it doesn't become a 113 00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: Columbus Day, it doesn't become this you know, fairy tale 114 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:42,839 Speaker 1: story that we tell over time because the truth just 115 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 1: becomes too hard to bear. So coming up next my 116 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:55,840 Speaker 1: conversation with Kristen or Kisa Folks. I am very excited 117 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,559 Speaker 1: to welcome to Willkate f Daily for the very first time, 118 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:05,000 Speaker 1: Kristin or Kisa, who is the co founder of Marked 119 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:09,920 Speaker 1: by COVID, the nation's top disaster equity advocate. So that 120 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:15,080 Speaker 1: I don't miss anything Kristen, please tell the woke AF 121 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:20,280 Speaker 1: audience more about Marked by COVID, What is Marked by COVID? 122 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:25,240 Speaker 1: When did and when did it start? Absolutely, and I 123 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:28,520 Speaker 1: just got to start off by saying, really, I'm excited 124 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:30,920 Speaker 1: to be here as well. I'm a huge fan of 125 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:35,360 Speaker 1: pod and everything that you've been up to. It's great 126 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:38,920 Speaker 1: to be in the company of friends who get that 127 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:41,280 Speaker 1: what's going on right now and a whole host of 128 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:45,240 Speaker 1: issues and in our government is not right. But Mark 129 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 1: by COVID, which is the group by lead and co founded, 130 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:53,960 Speaker 1: is an organization board on the pandemic founded and led 131 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:58,360 Speaker 1: by people who lost loved ones to COVID, myself included. 132 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:03,160 Speaker 1: In June twenty twenty, my dad came down sick with 133 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:07,600 Speaker 1: COVID nineteen and passed at the end of the month, 134 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:13,959 Speaker 1: and before vaccinations were even available for other members in 135 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:19,960 Speaker 1: my family died from COVID. We are a Latino Mexican 136 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:26,160 Speaker 1: American family that are essential workers who didn't have the 137 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:30,840 Speaker 1: luxury to work from home during the shutdowns and have 138 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 1: continued to be out there making sure that lattes are 139 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:41,040 Speaker 1: served and groceries are delivered. And for me, the impetus 140 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,800 Speaker 1: behind Marked by COVID was not only a way to 141 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:48,880 Speaker 1: channel my grief and rage at the handling of this pandemic, 142 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:53,760 Speaker 1: but also a way to build community with this new 143 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:58,120 Speaker 1: frontline community that has been emerging that's been most harmed 144 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:03,920 Speaker 1: by COVID. And since UM that sort of initial finding 145 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:09,600 Speaker 1: our beginning, we have chapters and cities and states across 146 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:14,240 Speaker 1: the country working with UM the bereaved people living with 147 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:18,320 Speaker 1: long COVID, and then also folks who are sort of 148 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:20,960 Speaker 1: in this really tough situation right now of being at 149 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:26,520 Speaker 1: higher risk of severe COVID UM to not only remember 150 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:32,080 Speaker 1: this pandemic but work for COVID justice. UM. So that's 151 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:34,360 Speaker 1: UM sort of us in a nutshell and in my 152 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:39,640 Speaker 1: background as well. Amazing And Kristin, I am so sorry 153 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:45,280 Speaker 1: for the losses that you've sustained UM over the last 154 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:47,720 Speaker 1: you know, three years that we that we are going 155 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:50,600 Speaker 1: into and I just I really appreciate your work UM, 156 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:54,840 Speaker 1: and and your your willingness to to to talk and 157 00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:57,840 Speaker 1: to kind of and to talk about COVID. I was 158 00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:02,520 Speaker 1: saying to you before we even started recording that, you know, 159 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:07,160 Speaker 1: we just finished the Thanksgiving holiday, we're getting ready to 160 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:13,520 Speaker 1: move into UM the you know, the Christmas holiday season, 161 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:19,280 Speaker 1: and it came up at my table, my family's table. Oh, 162 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:22,280 Speaker 1: you know, COVID's done. Like we're you know, we're over it. 163 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:25,160 Speaker 1: We've we've moved on. UM. I live in New York 164 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:32,240 Speaker 1: and I lost my stepgrandmother in November of twenty twenty 165 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 1: to COVID um three weeks after she came down with COVID. 166 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:41,640 Speaker 1: And again this was also before the vaccine was available, 167 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:46,840 Speaker 1: and three weeks after she was diagnosed, she was in 168 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:51,720 Speaker 1: the hospital and she was gone. And what I think 169 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:56,199 Speaker 1: is really challenging about the work that you're doing, and 170 00:13:56,640 --> 00:14:00,400 Speaker 1: I want to hear from you, is that we live 171 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:06,360 Speaker 1: in such a bifurcated space around COVID. On one hand, 172 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:12,679 Speaker 1: you have over a million people died during the heights 173 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:17,360 Speaker 1: of the pandemic. You have people that are still being hospitalized. 174 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:23,800 Speaker 1: And yet Kristen, it is gone the air waves, it 175 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:28,000 Speaker 1: is gone from television, it is gone from the papers. 176 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:31,880 Speaker 1: The only time that it's being brought up right now 177 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:35,720 Speaker 1: is because of the pushback and the protests that are 178 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 1: happening in China, where people are done with the zero 179 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 1: COVID policies that the government has had in place. But 180 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:50,000 Speaker 1: outside of those protests, we've heard nothing in our own country. 181 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:54,480 Speaker 1: So how do you how do you do your work 182 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 1: right with something that is being purposefully I think INSI 183 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:04,840 Speaker 1: falized and erased from our from our day to day 184 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:09,960 Speaker 1: lives and from our consciousness of what we've gone through 185 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:17,360 Speaker 1: collectively as a nation. Well, it is not easy to 186 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:21,400 Speaker 1: confront the cognitive dissonance on a daily basis. And everything 187 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:24,800 Speaker 1: that you have just shared is absolutely true. There is 188 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:32,400 Speaker 1: a concentrated campaign to downplay, dismiss deny what has happened 189 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:36,600 Speaker 1: and what is happening. And as somebody who you know 190 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:39,440 Speaker 1: is a millennial and an elder millennial, I can't help 191 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:43,120 Speaker 1: but think about this moment and look back to the 192 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:46,760 Speaker 1: early nineties, whenever climate change first came onto the radar, 193 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:51,440 Speaker 1: and feel as if the same exact thing is happening 194 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 1: where there are a small bit of special interests that 195 00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:03,560 Speaker 1: feed our capitalistic system to extreme wealth resources health, especially 196 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:09,640 Speaker 1: from already marginalized communities like ours, that are just working 197 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:12,280 Speaker 1: to pull the wool over our eyes. That this isn't 198 00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:16,480 Speaker 1: something that we should worry about. But what really worries 199 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 1: me is that this is still here. We are still 200 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:25,320 Speaker 1: losing more than three hundred people a day to COVID 201 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:29,440 Speaker 1: in the US. More than half of those people are 202 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:34,320 Speaker 1: fully vaccinated. We are on track to have COVID nineteen 203 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:39,960 Speaker 1: to be the number three killer behind cancer and heart 204 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:42,680 Speaker 1: disease for the third year in the row in a row, 205 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:48,200 Speaker 1: and people who are Indigenous, Black, and Latino have lost 206 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:53,560 Speaker 1: at least four years of life expectancy since the very 207 00:16:53,600 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 1: beginning of the pandemic. That is unprecedented. It just gives 208 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:07,800 Speaker 1: me chills thinking about this mass disabling event as well 209 00:17:07,840 --> 00:17:13,199 Speaker 1: as this humanitarian crisis that we are stumbling through that 210 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:19,280 Speaker 1: our government is working to pretend is over and to 211 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,400 Speaker 1: move us back to this idea of you know, it's 212 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:25,639 Speaker 1: all normal, And that doesn't even take into account the 213 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:31,400 Speaker 1: massive amount of losses that we are have experienced in 214 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:35,040 Speaker 1: our experiencing, in our need to grieve, our need to 215 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:39,119 Speaker 1: take stock of what we've been through, acknowledge that, and 216 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:44,080 Speaker 1: internalize lessons learned so that we do not repeat history itself. 217 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:49,480 Speaker 1: And so this has been a sort of work that 218 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:53,280 Speaker 1: I never would have expected to have taken these twists 219 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:55,880 Speaker 1: and turns whenever we started a couple of years ago. 220 00:17:56,280 --> 00:18:00,199 Speaker 1: But something that does give me hope is seeing and 221 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:05,560 Speaker 1: working alongside of a whole group of emergent leaders and 222 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:09,879 Speaker 1: activists who have seen some of the worst sides of 223 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:15,159 Speaker 1: the pandemic, who are committed to saying never again, and 224 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:20,240 Speaker 1: we must not forget what we're going through and what 225 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:24,080 Speaker 1: we deserve as communities, to have strong public health systems, 226 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:27,520 Speaker 1: to have access the clean air, to be able to 227 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:30,159 Speaker 1: go to work and know that we're not going to 228 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:34,600 Speaker 1: be put in harm's way. All of these fundamental civil rights, 229 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:38,960 Speaker 1: we are deciding them right now. And how we quote 230 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,959 Speaker 1: unquote recover and part of the work of Mark by 231 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:45,679 Speaker 1: COVID is really drawing a line in the sand and 232 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:49,240 Speaker 1: saying our loved ones, we will not allow them to 233 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:54,960 Speaker 1: die in vain, that their legacy needs to be preserved. 234 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:58,679 Speaker 1: That this could have been at this could have been 235 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:02,560 Speaker 1: averted had we taken the right steps and at any 236 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:08,760 Speaker 1: given moment act with courage and conviction and prioritize life 237 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:14,600 Speaker 1: over capital. I mean, Christen, there is so much there 238 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:18,920 Speaker 1: that you have said that I'm just in awe of. 239 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:22,240 Speaker 1: I think that for me, the comparison that I make 240 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:26,480 Speaker 1: to COVID and the erasure is what happened in the 241 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:30,240 Speaker 1: nineteen eighties during the beginning of the AIDS crisis, and 242 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:33,439 Speaker 1: how the AIDS crisis was at that time in the eighties, 243 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:37,479 Speaker 1: which people don't you remember or we're not born yet 244 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:42,800 Speaker 1: that are that understand the pandemic now was only concentrated 245 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:47,320 Speaker 1: at that time too gay men, right, So it was 246 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:50,040 Speaker 1: just like, oh, well, we don't need to care, right 247 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:57,080 Speaker 1: because of our our society's issues in dealing with homophobia 248 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:00,920 Speaker 1: at that time and continued issues of around that. But 249 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:06,040 Speaker 1: the purpose of so many campaigns and the AIDS quilt 250 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:08,760 Speaker 1: that I remember that, I like, I had very kind 251 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:12,720 Speaker 1: of like fuzzy memory, like fuzzy memories of but I 252 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 1: remember that the impact was so big because that quilt 253 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:20,040 Speaker 1: that would be unfurled, you know, in in front of 254 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:23,199 Speaker 1: the in front of the White House, like on the 255 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:26,880 Speaker 1: not in front of the White Husband, on the Capitol, 256 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:30,959 Speaker 1: on the mall was so profound because it was like 257 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:35,080 Speaker 1: see us see the loss, right, And I feel like 258 00:20:35,119 --> 00:20:37,960 Speaker 1: that is what marked by COVID is doing. It's just 259 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:42,080 Speaker 1: like wait a minute, you know, like our family members, 260 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:46,080 Speaker 1: our loved ones, your colleagues, your friends, like they mattered, 261 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,920 Speaker 1: and I think that you know that this this desire 262 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:54,240 Speaker 1: is it is it is politically driven, right, because it 263 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:58,280 Speaker 1: is no longer, nor had it ever been, because at 264 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:02,760 Speaker 1: the beginning of COVID, we had a president who exacerbated 265 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:09,040 Speaker 1: the issue, who politicized health, and who effectually was responsible 266 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:11,720 Speaker 1: for the deaths of nearly half a million Americans by 267 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:15,080 Speaker 1: the time he left office. And then I think about 268 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:20,200 Speaker 1: when the Biden administration came in, they held the vigil 269 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:23,720 Speaker 1: for at that time it was four hundred thousand Americans 270 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 1: that had died, so that we could collectively take a moment, 271 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:31,400 Speaker 1: take pause, and grieve that we were not imagining the 272 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:35,600 Speaker 1: trauma and the tragedy that was attached to living and 273 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:39,680 Speaker 1: continuing to work during a global health pandemic. But here 274 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:43,040 Speaker 1: we are fast forward, as we're heading into twenty twenty three, 275 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:46,520 Speaker 1: and COVID is not gone as many people would like 276 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:51,840 Speaker 1: to believe. But our empathy, Kristen, seems to has also 277 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:55,520 Speaker 1: been erased. And I want to talk to you about 278 00:21:56,560 --> 00:22:00,480 Speaker 1: how marked by COVID on top of dealings, I also 279 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:03,479 Speaker 1: want to get to the long COVID piece of this 280 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:08,800 Speaker 1: that again is not talked about, but how the empathy 281 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:12,080 Speaker 1: has been lost. And yet I know a lot of 282 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:16,880 Speaker 1: people that are still trying to deal with the shifts 283 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:20,360 Speaker 1: in their own personalities, their own day to day lives. 284 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:26,320 Speaker 1: Work has been transformed during this time. A majority of 285 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:28,960 Speaker 1: people that I know who have the privilege to have 286 00:22:29,119 --> 00:22:32,879 Speaker 1: been remote during that time are still, at least a 287 00:22:33,119 --> 00:22:37,600 Speaker 1: majority of the time still remote. Like every fundamental aspect 288 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:41,359 Speaker 1: of our lives have changed, and yet we're pretending it hasn't. 289 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:45,320 Speaker 1: And which is why Miriam Webster named gas lighting the 290 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:50,920 Speaker 1: word for twenty twenty two. Oh my gosh, I was. 291 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:55,200 Speaker 1: I was like, props, props to you, Miriam Webster, because 292 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:58,000 Speaker 1: that is what this has been a huge gas lighting 293 00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:02,840 Speaker 1: campaign and folks who came into office saying that they 294 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:06,120 Speaker 1: were going to do things differently. And that doesn't mean 295 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:08,920 Speaker 1: that like I don't see or we don't see the 296 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:12,960 Speaker 1: herculean effort that went into distribution of vaccines and developing 297 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:18,520 Speaker 1: other treatment. But you know, we we were promised to 298 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:23,280 Speaker 1: be told the truth and what we're seeing is a 299 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:28,880 Speaker 1: sort of march back of resources prioritization when we're still 300 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:32,879 Speaker 1: very much in the middle of this COVID crisis. And 301 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,200 Speaker 1: to kind of riff off of what you were talking 302 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:39,280 Speaker 1: about with the AIDS crisis and the memorial quilt. I'll 303 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:42,280 Speaker 1: have to share with you this little tidbit. Two days 304 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:46,760 Speaker 1: after my dad passed, my partner and I were taking 305 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:51,080 Speaker 1: a hike right outside of Phoenix, where we where I'm from, 306 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:53,879 Speaker 1: and the thing we kept on talking about was the 307 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:58,800 Speaker 1: AIDS quilt and that moment and recognizing that unfurling on 308 00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:01,720 Speaker 1: the mall and seeing the President and and the first 309 00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:04,480 Speaker 1: Lady and the Vice President taking those in. That was 310 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:07,800 Speaker 1: the moment for me as a little girl who knew 311 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:11,000 Speaker 1: there was something big going on but couldn't quite understood it. 312 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:16,119 Speaker 1: Realize those were people, Those were Americans. Those were folks 313 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:19,880 Speaker 1: that were part of our society and economy and who 314 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:25,359 Speaker 1: left behind loved ones whose lives mattered. And we said 315 00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:28,720 Speaker 1: to ourselves, we have to figure out how to make 316 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:32,199 Speaker 1: these numbers be people, to humanize this again. And a 317 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:34,880 Speaker 1: big part of the mark by COVID work has been 318 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:39,600 Speaker 1: helping others share their story, giving people permission to be angry, 319 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:42,760 Speaker 1: to be sad, to have those emotions of this should 320 00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:46,560 Speaker 1: not have happened, and to demand better for their loved ones, 321 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:49,760 Speaker 1: but also are all of ourselves. I do not want 322 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:52,240 Speaker 1: to be living and nor do we need to be 323 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:56,680 Speaker 1: living in a society where access to public spaces has 324 00:24:56,720 --> 00:24:59,480 Speaker 1: been more limited to people and the chronically ill and 325 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:03,840 Speaker 1: disabled community then since like the nineteen seventies, because there 326 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:09,480 Speaker 1: is an entire universe of individuals who are at risk 327 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:14,560 Speaker 1: irrespective of vaccination status, of high risk COVID, meaning they 328 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:19,320 Speaker 1: could still die very well because they get sick through 329 00:25:19,359 --> 00:25:22,000 Speaker 1: no fault of their own. So it is our responsibility 330 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,840 Speaker 1: as a society to help one another. And I think 331 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:28,360 Speaker 1: on that piece of empathy, I will share that one 332 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:32,520 Speaker 1: thing I have been blown away by time and time again, 333 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:37,960 Speaker 1: visit the diversity within our community itself. Yes, by and large, 334 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:41,360 Speaker 1: most of the people within marked by COVID come from 335 00:25:41,359 --> 00:25:44,840 Speaker 1: communities of color or had loved ones who were elderly 336 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:49,000 Speaker 1: and a nursing home. Sort of, these folks on the margins, 337 00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:53,000 Speaker 1: our island of misfit toys. But the thing that I 338 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:55,760 Speaker 1: have seen time and time again is people being able 339 00:25:55,800 --> 00:26:01,359 Speaker 1: to build bridges across differences, rural individuals, urban folks, people 340 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:05,400 Speaker 1: who you know have a totally different like immigration status 341 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:10,000 Speaker 1: or are not documented, coming together and really seeing one 342 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,879 Speaker 1: another as human beings and building bridges from there. And 343 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:17,800 Speaker 1: I think that addressing our grief head on creating spaces 344 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:23,760 Speaker 1: like our memorial work allows us to see the humanity 345 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:28,720 Speaker 1: and one another again. And through our memorial work, I've 346 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:35,400 Speaker 1: had some of the most uplifting, healing conversations with people 347 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:39,000 Speaker 1: who haven't even experienced COVID loss, who will see one 348 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:42,040 Speaker 1: of our memorials and drop to the ground and say, 349 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:48,040 Speaker 1: I didn't lose anybody, but my god, I've been so 350 00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:53,000 Speaker 1: overwhelmed by this loss and have not had a space 351 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:56,240 Speaker 1: where I feel like I can actually just be with this. 352 00:26:56,480 --> 00:27:00,960 Speaker 1: And that is what we are working to do through 353 00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:05,919 Speaker 1: our National COVID Memorial Project, through our work to establish 354 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:09,639 Speaker 1: a permanent COVID Memorial Day for the first Monday of March, 355 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:14,199 Speaker 1: and the calendar for us to come together to be 356 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:18,960 Speaker 1: able to mark that we went through this, Our country 357 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:24,399 Speaker 1: endured this. We've lost a million people in counting, and 358 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:28,399 Speaker 1: tens of millions more people are suffering through a myriad 359 00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:34,560 Speaker 1: of ways, economic downfall, long COVID, an intersectionality of all 360 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:37,120 Speaker 1: of those things coming together. So I think that our 361 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:41,160 Speaker 1: grief is our superpower. That's the thing that I think 362 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:45,600 Speaker 1: is going to help us see one another as people again, 363 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:48,320 Speaker 1: as human beings again, and then be able to kind 364 00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:51,080 Speaker 1: of figure out how do we rebuild in a way 365 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:59,560 Speaker 1: that really values these central tenets of life first life, liberty, 366 00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:04,920 Speaker 1: pursuit of happiness. It just seems it seems so basic 367 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:10,680 Speaker 1: right to be able to, you know, commemorate, honor loss, 368 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:15,720 Speaker 1: and collectively grieve. And I'm wondering, Kristen, if if during 369 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:21,400 Speaker 1: your work UM to try and get this nationally recognized, 370 00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:27,360 Speaker 1: do you have you know, support from some members of Congress, like, 371 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:31,639 Speaker 1: are there you know, do you have sponsors or of 372 00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:35,960 Speaker 1: a piece of a resolution or bills our bill in 373 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:42,360 Speaker 1: terms of recognizing this day, creating this day. UM, that's 374 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:44,800 Speaker 1: sort of a good thing to report back on. So 375 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:49,320 Speaker 1: we've worked both UM with members of Congress, but also 376 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:53,880 Speaker 1: folks on the state and city level to introduced resolutions 377 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:58,320 Speaker 1: marking the first Monday of March's COVID Memorial Day. UM. 378 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:01,920 Speaker 1: So far we worked with over one hundred and seventy 379 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:06,960 Speaker 1: five cities to recognize that day. Eight states have introduced 380 00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:10,440 Speaker 1: legislation to recognize that day, and we have a bill 381 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:14,920 Speaker 1: both in the Senate and in the House that would 382 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:20,240 Speaker 1: recognize that day as as COVID Memorial Day. We're working 383 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:23,000 Speaker 1: to get that reintroduced in the new Congress, and this 384 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:26,960 Speaker 1: upcoming March sixth, which will be the first Monday of March, 385 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:31,160 Speaker 1: are planning to observe it for the third year in 386 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:36,640 Speaker 1: a row with our community and broader community. I'm looking 387 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:40,000 Speaker 1: forward to connecting with more teachers and sort of other 388 00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:46,280 Speaker 1: individuals who can start to develop curriculum around this and 389 00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:49,880 Speaker 1: really just thinking about what are the rituals that we 390 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:53,360 Speaker 1: can do despite the gas lighting that's coming on, to 391 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:57,880 Speaker 1: really codify history. And this is something else that I 392 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:01,160 Speaker 1: was thinking about really closely right after my dad died. 393 00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:04,560 Speaker 1: And I'm sure you'll get a laugh at it. The 394 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:07,440 Speaker 1: thing that came to mind within the first week was 395 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:13,040 Speaker 1: I'll be damn if I let them turn COVID into 396 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 1: some Christopher Columbus version of Discovering America. Come on and it. 397 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:25,400 Speaker 1: You know, the term revisionist history was something that I 398 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:28,880 Speaker 1: was familiar with, I've used before, but in that emotional state, 399 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:32,160 Speaker 1: I thought about that whole whitewashing campaign that folks like 400 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:36,120 Speaker 1: you and I and others forever age were taught that, like, 401 00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:39,160 Speaker 1: you know, this was all hunky dory, when in fact, 402 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:43,600 Speaker 1: our country was built upon genocide of Native people's and 403 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:46,560 Speaker 1: it built up the backs of free labor, labor from 404 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:49,960 Speaker 1: enslaved black individual So it's just like, no, no, no, 405 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:52,920 Speaker 1: we're not going to allow COVID to be this time 406 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:54,960 Speaker 1: that we were oh all on zoom and it was 407 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:57,600 Speaker 1: a little difficult. No, this is the time in which 408 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:03,640 Speaker 1: our government decided to politicize this, and then they decided 409 00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:07,800 Speaker 1: to continue to mislead the public so that we could 410 00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:11,800 Speaker 1: have this fantasy of business as usual, which only lines 411 00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:13,880 Speaker 1: the pockets of a few at the cost of all 412 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:21,240 Speaker 1: of US one hundred. Before I let you go, Christen, 413 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:26,440 Speaker 1: I do want to talk about long COVID because I 414 00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:31,000 Speaker 1: think that it is an issue that has not received 415 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,920 Speaker 1: the type of attention that it should. That those that 416 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:39,720 Speaker 1: have a myriad of symptoms and issues that continue to progress, 417 00:31:39,840 --> 00:31:43,880 Speaker 1: whether that be the occasional loss of smell and taste, 418 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:50,560 Speaker 1: the consistent migraines, the overwhelming exhaustion that now you're unable 419 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:53,920 Speaker 1: to work, the dizziness. All of these you know, different 420 00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:56,360 Speaker 1: and I'm sure I'm missing a host of things, but 421 00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:06,040 Speaker 1: that have really created a different disability lane as as so, 422 00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:09,400 Speaker 1: can you just talk a bit about some of the 423 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:12,280 Speaker 1: things that we don't know and the misnomers that we 424 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:17,760 Speaker 1: have about long COVID so that folks continue to inform 425 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:24,400 Speaker 1: themselves and those around them. Yes, long COVID is real. 426 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:30,520 Speaker 1: It is a post viral condition in which the symptoms 427 00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:35,920 Speaker 1: that you named and others persist way after the acute phase. 428 00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:39,480 Speaker 1: So a couple of things that are really really essential 429 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:44,360 Speaker 1: for folks to sort of examine and reconcile with is 430 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:49,600 Speaker 1: that a mild COVID case can lead to long COVID. 431 00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:55,080 Speaker 1: And in fact, most long COVID cases were mild cases 432 00:32:55,080 --> 00:32:58,360 Speaker 1: of COVID, meaning you didn't go to the hospital, you 433 00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:03,080 Speaker 1: didn't need oxygen, and you weren't you know, severely in distress, 434 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:07,840 Speaker 1: but you had those cold or flu like symptoms. Second 435 00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:11,760 Speaker 1: of all, the more times you get COVID, the data 436 00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:17,480 Speaker 1: is showing that that leads to susceptibility of long COVID. 437 00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:21,920 Speaker 1: So our current strategy of let it rip, just get sick, 438 00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:25,040 Speaker 1: take time off, you know, two to three times a year, 439 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:28,880 Speaker 1: that is putting us all at higher risk of having 440 00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:37,040 Speaker 1: these long term, dehabilitating symptoms, which I have to remind 441 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:41,120 Speaker 1: us all we do not have a social system to 442 00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:46,240 Speaker 1: catch us, either in health or in wealth, should we fall. 443 00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:48,320 Speaker 1: And this is something I was just talking to some 444 00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:52,520 Speaker 1: friends of mine going back to Arizona for the holiday 445 00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:54,880 Speaker 1: season and was like, I would love to see you, 446 00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:59,720 Speaker 1: but I do not have the intergenerational wealth nor the 447 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:05,440 Speaker 1: fun to gather indoors without knowing my status, without masking. 448 00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:07,719 Speaker 1: So if we see each other, we're going to have 449 00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:12,440 Speaker 1: to participate in some pretty strong COVID precautions to keep 450 00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:15,799 Speaker 1: myself safe but also to do my part. And we're 451 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:20,040 Speaker 1: not having that sort of conversation amongst ourselves or even 452 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:22,880 Speaker 1: have that language, because this all goes back to the 453 00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:27,640 Speaker 1: fact that nobody knows about long COVID and the people 454 00:34:27,680 --> 00:34:30,320 Speaker 1: that have been on the front lines of long COVID, 455 00:34:30,440 --> 00:34:34,399 Speaker 1: or the patients themselves, advocates like myself. I'm lucky enough 456 00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:38,160 Speaker 1: to not have long COVID. My mother does, though, so 457 00:34:38,200 --> 00:34:41,040 Speaker 1: I'm a caretaker of a person with long COVID and 458 00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:47,279 Speaker 1: it terrifies me. This is an unknown and I am 459 00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:52,399 Speaker 1: not willing to play COVID roulette on my life, with 460 00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:55,759 Speaker 1: the life of you know, people I love, with my 461 00:34:55,800 --> 00:35:00,319 Speaker 1: broader community, and with society at large. There are some 462 00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:03,239 Speaker 1: simple things that we could do right now to make 463 00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:05,759 Speaker 1: a big difference on long COVID. We need a ton 464 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:09,440 Speaker 1: more funding to advocacy and research to ensure that we 465 00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:12,440 Speaker 1: are getting one step ahead. But we also need to 466 00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:15,440 Speaker 1: be thinking about what are the mitigation measures to control 467 00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:20,080 Speaker 1: the spread. This unchecked spread that's still happening and that 468 00:35:20,120 --> 00:35:25,000 Speaker 1: will continue throughout this colder holiday season puts us all 469 00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:27,880 Speaker 1: at increased risk of long COVID if any one of 470 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:34,240 Speaker 1: us gets sick, even if it was mild or asymptomatic. Kristen, 471 00:35:34,719 --> 00:35:37,760 Speaker 1: I got to say one, I thank you so much 472 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:44,000 Speaker 1: for founding this organization, for continuing to spread the gospel 473 00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:53,160 Speaker 1: on COVID, for fighting for empathy, for recognition, and fighting 474 00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:57,400 Speaker 1: against the erasure of the trauma that we have all experienced, 475 00:35:57,440 --> 00:36:00,920 Speaker 1: whether we lost someone or not over the US three years. 476 00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:04,600 Speaker 1: And really you're on the front lines of stopping the 477 00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:08,960 Speaker 1: gaslight around around COVID and the fact that oh it was, 478 00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:12,439 Speaker 1: it was no big deal, and now it's gone. So 479 00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:15,800 Speaker 1: I really just want to say I appreciate you. Please 480 00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:21,040 Speaker 1: tell UM my listeners how they can find out more 481 00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:28,440 Speaker 1: and get involved. Yeah. Absolutely, We often joke around how 482 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:31,759 Speaker 1: Marked by COVID is a gaslight free zone. UM, you 483 00:36:31,800 --> 00:36:35,680 Speaker 1: can find us. You can find our website at mark 484 00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:41,000 Speaker 1: bycovid dot com. We're also on the major social media channels, 485 00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:45,880 Speaker 1: so Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat at Marked by Covid, 486 00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:49,479 Speaker 1: and we have a community meeting every Thursday at four 487 00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:53,640 Speaker 1: thirty Pacific, which is open not only to people who 488 00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:56,080 Speaker 1: have lost loved ones or are living with long COVID, 489 00:36:56,320 --> 00:36:58,520 Speaker 1: but folks who want to be in a space where 490 00:36:58,640 --> 00:37:01,400 Speaker 1: we don't downplay the threat and are working together to 491 00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:03,880 Speaker 1: make the world a better place. So we'd love to 492 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:06,799 Speaker 1: connect with any of the viewers. You want to get 493 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:12,120 Speaker 1: involved and join us on the front lines. Yeah, and Kristin, 494 00:37:12,200 --> 00:37:15,560 Speaker 1: I would love to have you back in March as 495 00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:20,200 Speaker 1: as you as you look to to mark UM the 496 00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:25,000 Speaker 1: third anniversary of COVID, so we will absolutely look to 497 00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:28,080 Speaker 1: make that happen UM and to just hear about the 498 00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:33,120 Speaker 1: progress UM and and what folks can continue to do. Kristen, 499 00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:37,799 Speaker 1: thank you so much. Thank you so much for making 500 00:37:37,800 --> 00:37:40,400 Speaker 1: the time. Thank you so much for your work. And 501 00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:44,680 Speaker 1: you know, folks check out Marked by Covid and get involved. 502 00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:49,440 Speaker 1: We appreciate you. Thanks Daniel, and thanks Woke a f community. 503 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:57,800 Speaker 1: You all are amazing. That is it for me today, 504 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:01,239 Speaker 1: Dear friends on woke app as always, Power to the 505 00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:04,480 Speaker 1: people and to all the people. Power, Get woke and 506 00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:06,080 Speaker 1: stay woke as fuck.