Side Effects

A year into the pandemic, COVID-19 has put an enormous strain on healthcare systems — including the influx of COVID-19 patients, staffing shortages and budget crunches. Hospitals and healthcare workers reflect on living with COVID a year after it came to dominate our lives.

April Hendrickson is a resource nurse at University Hospital and Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. She spoke with Side Effect’s Public Media’s Darian Benson about how she found strength in her faith while working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the past year, Dr. Lauren Graham has been the COVID-19 coordinator at the Grinnell Regional Medical Center in Grinnell, Iowa. She spoke to Side Effects Public Media’s Natalie Krebs about what she’s learned one year into the pandemic.

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayra Ramirez contracted the virus and ended up in the ICU on life support. She was 28. The virus had severely damaged her lungs and doctors concluded she would not survive without a double-lung transplant.

It's been a year since the COVID crisis started to dominate our lives. To mark that milestone, our journalists revisited their reporting and collected some significant moments.

Many Midwest states are now weeks into distributing coronavirus vaccines to residents who are 65 or older. With demand still far outstripping supply, many seniors have struggled to get an appointment and are frustrated. And some worry the most vulnerable residents could be left behind.

With COVID-19 limiting gatherings, the Westside Community Development Corp. had to get creative for a recent wellness event. So it hosted a Health and Wealth event on Facebook to provide information on public health topics, including the vaccines. There were discussions with representatives from organizations such as local health departments, as well as live music performances.

Across the Midwest, the rollout of COVID vaccines has been spotty. Lots of people are having a trouble with online signups. And vaccine demand far exceeds supply. That’s made the process challenging, especially in rural areas.

As the COVID vaccine rollout continues, Midwesterners have a lot of questions about distribution plans — and the vaccine itself. One state is getting help from a surprising place: public libraries.

The COVID-19 vaccines hold promise for ending the pandemic, and millions of Americans have received at least one shot. But 39% aren’t likely to get a vaccine, according to a December study from the Pew Research Center. One of the main reasons: a lack of trust in the research and development process. Side Effects asked two scientists at Southern Illinois University’s School of Medicine about those reservations.