Side Effects

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.

Johnson Simon, a painter and professor who has cerebral palsy, had his career plan interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. He spoke to Seth Johnson about his passion for teaching in an audio diary project for our Move to Include series.

Fairs and festivals play an important role in the culture and economy of communities across the Midwest. But the continued prevalence of COVID-19 could put them in jeopardy again in 2021.

As a person who likes to stay busy, Chelsea Davis had a hard time adjusting when COVID shut down her places of employment and volunteering. Seth Johnson interviewed her for Side Effects Public Media as part of an audio diary project for our Move to Include series.

Andrew Peterson isn’t one to stay still, but he’s had to get creative since COVID cancelled the marathons and competitions he’d normally be running in. Seth Johnson interviewed him and his father for Side Effects Public Media as part of an audio diary project for our Move to Include series.

What does an entertainment journalist do when he can’t cover events? Seth Johnson talks about his experience learning new skills — including creating radio diaries for Side Effects — during the pandemic. Part 1 of our Move to Include series on how people with disabilities are coping during this nationwide public health crisis.

For more than a decade, Saraí has been a farmworker, cultivating corn and soybeans in the fields of central Illinois. She moved to the U.S. from Mexico to find work that would allow her to better support her family.

The work that people in public health do is often not very visible. It’s usually focused on long-term impacts like improving maternal health and encouraging flu shots. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. last spring, public health workers were thrown into the spotlight seemingly overnight. And this sudden shift has taken a huge toll on them.

As soon as COVID-19 hit, there was a massive jump in telemedicine visits. A Centers for Disease Control study found that in March 2020 there was a 154% increase compared to the previous year. Now it’s clear the coronavirus has dramatically changed the way Americans get medical care. But some of these virtual options remain out of reach for the most vulnerable populations, like seniors.

At Riley Hospital for Children there's been a jump in emergency room visits related to mental health and suicide. From March to December, these visits increased 61 percent compared to the same months in 2019. Hilary Blake, a psychologist at the Indianapolis hospital, says there is a mental health crisis in Indiana.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for Midwestern school districts as they balance their students’ education and safety. At the forefront are school nurses, who are responsible for screening kids for COVID-19, notifying parents and even contact tracing. And that’s on top of their regular duties.

Medical professionals across the country are being vaccinated against COVID-19. For Dr. Gabriel Bosslet, a pulmonologist in Indianapolis, it was a day he'll never forget. He spoke with Side Effects Public Media's Carter Barrett, before getting the vaccine — and just hours after the first dose.

The pandemic has left millions of Americans without jobs, and as a result, nearly 14 million people lost employer-sponsored health insurance . For the one-in-10 Americans with diabetes, this poses a potentially life-threatening problem.

Megan Miedema is a mother of two in Chicago. In October, she started to feel back pain but was hesitant to go to the doctor. She worried about getting COVID-19 and bringing it back home.

The new COVID-19 vaccine is being rolled out across the country — a process that will take months. But there were hopeful signs Wednesday at an Indianapolis hospital where some of the first shots were given.

Agatha Walston leads a busy life. She’s a nurse in southern Indiana and a single mother of two young kids.

COVID-19 vaccines could one day end the pandemic. But at the moment, cases — and deaths — continue to rise. So does misinformation about the disease. One comment often seen on social media is that deaths are being attributed to COVID even when the patient died of something else. Dr. Sonal Shah, a hospitalist at Southern Illinois Healthcare, says some of that confusion may come from death certificates having two fields.

For many mothers giving birth during the pandemic, pregnancy has not gone as planned. To learn about these experiences, a pair of researchers is collecting pandemic birth stories from across the country.

Drug manufacturers have released promising early results for their COVID-19 vaccines, but skepticism among Americans remains high -- especially for African Americans, who the virus has hit harder than other groups.

COVID-19 cases are rising across the Midwest — and so are hospitalizations and deaths. Some hospitals are facing a flood of patients with fewer staff because their own employees have tested positive or are in quarantine. And they’re still seeing COVID deniers.

America Amplified: Election 2020 is a national talk show that will dive into the challegnes facing America before and after election day on November 3. This six-part, one-hour weekly radio talk show will air Sundays on WFYI from 3 to 4 p.m. from October 11- November 15. Learn more about Episode 6 below.

The continued stress from COVID-19 has heightened mental health problems nationwide. And some experts say that has led to an increase in drug overdoses.

This story was produced by Side Effects Public Media , a news collaborative covering public health. The recent COVID surge was enough to push BJC Healthcare to start deferring some scheduled procedures at hospitals in the St. Louis area. In Columbia, where the University of Missouri is located, hospitals aren’t there yet. But it’s not out of the question.

America Amplified: Election 2020 is a national talk show that will dive into the challegnes facing America before and after election day on November 3. This six-part, one-hour weekly radio talk show will air Sundays on WFYI from 3 to 4 p.m. from October 11- November 15. Learn more about Episode 5 below.

America Amplified: Election 2020 is a national talk show that will dive into the challegnes facing America before and after election day on November 3. This six-part, one-hour weekly radio talk show will air Sundays on WFYI from 3 to 4 p.m. from October 11- November 15. Learn more about Episode 4 below.

Sandra Martell is in a tough spot. As public health administrator in northern Illinois’ Winnebago County, Martell was threatened with lawsuits from several area bar owners after she included them on a list of businesses allegedly defying the governor’s orders to halt indoor dining.

In some ways, this Halloween season is no different than in years past — despite COVID-19. Haunted houses still offer the creepy clowns and chainsaw chases that thrill-seekers have grown accustomed to. Young people making the transition from trick-or-treating are another annual staple.

America Amplified: Election 2020 is a national talk show that will dive into the challegnes facing America before and after election day on November 3. This six-part, one-hour weekly radio talk show will air Sundays on WFYI from 3 to 4 p.m. from October 11- November 15. Learn more about Episode 3 below.

Pharmaceutical companies are scrambling to develop an effective COVID-19 vaccine and receive FDA approval. In the meantime, states are finalizing plans to distribute the vaccine — and overcome potential challenges.

Note: This piece contains descriptions of violence and self-harm that may be disturbing to some readers. In late June, Danielle was the only correctional officer working in the medical unit at the Miami Correctional Facility when she heard a noise coming from the bathroom. She knew an inmate had gone in, but Danielle needed someone with her to investigate — entering a men’s bathroom by herself was against policy, she said. She tracked down a nurse, then opened the door.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Barbara Allen’s life became more complicated overnight. Allen, 39, lives in Springfield, Illinois, where she cares for people who have disabilities and live in group homes. As an essential worker, she never stopped working full-time. Then schools closed and she was forced to navigate virtual learning with seven children at home. (She’s raising her three sons plus her sister’s children — ranging from kindergarten through high school).

Parts of the Midwest have already seen snow, and with this winter weather comes an added layer of challenges for battling COVID-19.

Last of a four-part series. As we conclude our series on young activists, we meet Maria Duenas Lopez, a first generation Mexican-American who advocates for immigrants. Side Effects Public Media’s Darian Benson interviewed her about the importance of an inclusive democracy.

Part 3 in a series. As we continue our series on young activists, we meet Tyshara Loynes, a college student working to protect a street with historic significance for Indianapolis' Black community. Side Effects Public Media’s Darian Benson interviewed her as part of an audio diary project for America Amplified.

Part 2 in a series. Our series on young people driving community change continues with Dyna Martinez, an Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis student who was deeply influenced by her childhood in Honduras. Side Effects Public Media’s Darian Benson interviewed her as part of an audio diary project for America Amplified reporting initiative.

Part 1 in a series. Voting is a big issue as we get closer to Election Day. But that isn’t the only way people are making their voices heard this year. Over the past few months, Side Effects Public Media’s Darian Benson has followed four young activists as part of an audio diary project for America Amplified reporting initiative. One of them is Taylor Hall, a 20-year-old who helped organize one of the summer’s largest protests in Indianapolis.

Now that summer is over and temperatures are dipping across the Midwest, people are headed indoors, some experts fear the already striking rise in cases is the beginning of another wave of COVID-19. “I think that as fall moves forward ... what we're seeing right now is kind of a preview of what we can expect, as we even see colder temperatures come,” says Brian Dixon, director of public health informatics at the Indianapolis-based Regenstrief Institute.

Dani Hoover is a 26-year-old social worker in Indianapolis. She has battled depression and anxiety since high school, and the pandemic hasn’t made it any easier.

On the outskirts of Rantoul, in east-central Illinois, about 100 migrant farmworkers are living at an old hotel in a sleepy part of town. Every day at the crack of dawn, Samuel Gomez and the rest of the crew get their temperatures checked on the way out the door. Most workers, donning masks, load onto a big yellow school bus for a 30-minute drive to a large warehouse, where they will spend the day sorting corn on large conveyor belts.

There is just one hospital in western Indiana’s Vermillion County. The slender, 37-mile long county is dotted with corn and soybean fields, and driving from one end to the other would take nearly an hour. Union Hospital Clinton is small, only 25 beds, but it also serves parts of two neighboring counties. The area suffers from some of Indiana’s highest rates of heart attack and stroke.

Over the past decade, more than 100 hospitals in rural parts of America — including at least 20 in the Midwest — have closed. In some cases, the shuttered hospital had been the only one in town, and the ripple effects are enormous, affecting not just access to health care, but also the town’s economy and even identity.

Jacqueline McFarquhar’s mom, Beryline Hillaire, is 80 years old and has Alzheimer’s. For the last two years, Hillaire's been going to Active Day, an adult day care center near Cincinnati, Ohio. "Six days a week, and that was her choice," McFarquhar said, laughing. "I think she felt like she became a little bit popular there, you know?"

Sexually transmitted infections, or STIs, have been on the rise for years. But the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted public health efforts to address the problem, and this has some worried about a surge in cases.

There’s a lot of COVID-19 data available through state and federal resources. But those numbers can be confusing or raise questions. That’s inspired some people to do their own data-tracking.

Across the Midwest, COVID-19 cases are rising. And some survivors are still recovering — months after coming down with the disease. Karen Campbell is one of them.

At a news conference on Aug. 26, Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box said it’s crucial for Hoosiers to participate in contact tracing . “So If you get a text or a phone call from the state department of health about an important public health matter, please answer the text, answer the call,” she said.

It had been a while since Stacey heard from her son, who’s incarcerated at Miami Correctional Facility in Bunker Hill, Indiana. They had an argument a few months ago, but she kept track of him through relatives who communicated with him more regularly, and even saved his voicemails so she could play them back whenever she missed him. Then on Wednesday, Stacey’s son sent her a message: “I have covid love u.”