Alexis Mitchell

Alexis Mitchell

In this interview, Alexis Mitchell shares her experience during the prime of Covid 19 and how it affected and still affects her life.

Detroit Historical Society

Detroit Historical Society

en-US

Alexis Mitchell

Kevin Hawthrone

17:42

Kevin Hawthorne: Hello, this is Kevin Hawthorne with the Detroit Historical Museum for the oral history change on Covid. I'm here today with. If you could introduce yourself.

Alexis Mitchell: Alexis Mitchell.

Kevin Hawthorne: All right. And how long have you lived? I was going to say in the Detroit area, but I know you don't live exactly in Detroit area. You live in Roseville, but how long have you lived in that area?

Alexis Mitchell: I've lived there all my life. So, it'll be going on 29 years.

Kevin Hawthorne: And around which area in Roseville do you live in?

Alexis Mitchell: Currently, I live in the south end of Roseville. So, close to the Eastpointe border. Just off of Graiot

Kevin Hawthorne: And how close to the city of Detroit are you?

Alexis Mitchell: It depends on, I guess, the traffic. But drive time, I would say about 20, 30 minutes.

Kevin Hawthorne: And so we are still in the midst of Covid. It's been about four years. But do you remember where you first were when you first heard about Covid and like, were you worried about it? Did you think it was a problem or were you kind of of the mind of, oh, that's not going to happen to us?

Alexis Mitchell: At first I. Well, I feel like I became aware of it, a little bit before it kind of really hit the US. Just because I'd been seeing some reports online. So I would say that was probably around, like February of 2020. And I remember being at work. Like when we officially got the kind of sent home notice or, you know, what we thought would be a two week, kind of work from home situation. As we know, that didn't really happen.

Kevin Hawthorne: And when you first, like, got that work home thing, like, what was your feeling about the situation that was happening?

Alexis Mitchell: You know, I at that point, it was like the middle of March, I think it was like March 18th or something like that. At that point, it was known that it was a pretty serious, illness that was going around. There wasn't, you know, a vaccine at that time or any type of or at least they weren't really sure what treatments were effective. So, it was a little scary, just kind of like the unknown. I was a little worried. I was just fortunate enough to, you know, be able to work remotely. So I did feel a little bit more secure, but it was mostly the unknown and kind of hearing, you know, a lot of crazy reports at that time that kind of worried me or so.

Kevin Hawthorne: And so, what is your job in, like, what is your you were able to work from home, so what, kind of job field you work in?

Alexis Mitchell: Sure. I it's probably easiest to say community mental health. So I don't work directly with individuals, but I'm more on, like, the administrative side of that.

Kevin Hawthorne: And so working with mental health people in this case, did you see like a rise in people by calling or needing more help due to Covid?

Alexis Mitchell: Yeah, I would say so. It was so at that time I was working at an agency that worked with, you know, family, side with children and families. And around March actually is kind of a tricky time, because there are kind of, more popular times for community mental health services. So, like, during the summer, because, you know, kids are back home, they're not in school. So, like, their parents, you know, reach out for services more, often. But since March is still kind of in the school year, it's generally a low period. But we did see an increase initially. And then kind of that same summertime rise we saw. But it was, I would say a little bit more, maybe exaggerated, or maybe started a little early because, you know, again, kids were kind of forced to go home or be in the home, a lot earlier than they were anticipating.

Kevin Hawthorne: And then just around your own neighborhood. How did you see the effects of Covid, which is you and your neighbors?

Alexis Mitchell: At that time, we were living in a newer home. You know, we hadn't been at that place for very long. So we didn't really know our neighbors. But I would say, you know, a lot of our families lived within, like, our neighborhood and not being able to, you know, go visit them or, you know, feel like we couldn't visit them safely was probably one of the biggest change changes that I remember. Just not being able to hang out with my friends that were like, you know, a couple blocks away or something like that, is very strange and isolating.

Kevin Hawthorne: With that isolation feeling, when the, vaccines were rolled out, what was your, like, initial? Because some people were a little skeptical about it. How what was your initial feeling about the vaccine with the rollout in addition? You know, in response to, like, the isolation.

Alexis Mitchell: Yeah. I mean, I was very excited for the vaccine. You know, I was very confident in its abilities to, you know, protect myself and, you know, others against the disease. I was when it first rolled out, I remember it was, only offered to kind of. What was it called? I think it was first responders or, you know, high priority, people. So fortunately, my job qualified for that kind of early rollout. So I actually was able to get vaccinated early on or earlier than a lot of, you know, people in my life because they didn't have those qualifying jobs. But as far as like the kind of social stance around it, I was fortunate to have all of my very close friends, you know, be aligned with my beliefs, our, you know, confidence in the vaccine. However, my family did have, differing, differing opinions. And to this day, it's still a struggle that we, you know, kind of. Talk about occasionally, but since it's four years later or, you know, I guess three years for the vaccine, it's kind of just something we don't really discuss.

Kevin Hawthorne: In very fair. Have you. Who was the first person you knew who was exposed to Covid in your own, like, you know, personal circle?

Alexis Mitchell: Oh, that was. It's been so long. I'm trying to remember now, I don't remember exactly who, but I know I had a couple friends who, you know, weren't fortunate enough to have worked from home at that point. So they were kind of in those, like, public front facing positions. So I want to say was definitely one of those people in my life.

Kevin Hawthorne: Yeah. And just you yourself had. Did you contract Covid during the past four years, and if so, did you do it, once or even multiple times?

Alexis Mitchell: Yeah. Unfortunately, I did, contract Covid for the first time in September of 2023. I was proud of my streak, but it was ended. I got that from, household member, unfortunately. And then I unfortunately contracted it again from a close family member. Early I it was in May of this year, so within nine months, I had Covid twice.

Kevin Hawthorne: What was the experience like both times? Were they similar or were they different? And the effects on it of like how it felt?

Alexis Mitchell: Yeah. I mean, mentally, the first time, I was a lot more scared or like, you know, even though I was up to date on my health, I was very close to getting a booster. But the booster wasn't out at that point. So I had just missed, you know, that time frame. But, I was a little nervous because I wasn't really sure what to expect. You know, I had heard that Covid impacts everyone differently. So just not really knowing how my body would react to it. The second time I kind of I was still very frustrated that I had gotten it again. You know, especially within that short time frame. And, you know, honestly, it was a. Something that I probably could have prevented. You know, had I kind of maybe showed a little bit more caution. But I was a little bit more comfortable with it only because, I kind of knew what to expect both times. Were pretty much the same as far as symptoms, the first time is a little worse, or it lasted a little longer. Unfortunately, I'm not one of those people who are asymptomatic or, you know, it kind of just feels like a cold. I experience, you know, shortness of breath, severe chest pain. I don't really get too much of, like, the fever chills aspect of it. It's mostly, I would say, in my chest, I take steroids. I took steroids both times, for treatment because of the shortness of breath. Yeah. And I lasted about a week, I would say, each time.

Kevin Hawthorne: Right. And have you experienced any long Covid symptoms? Like, have you noticed, like myself, I contracted Covid twice, and I also just noticed recently I just get more out of breath more easily than I used to. Have you experience any symptoms like that?

Alexis Mitchell: Yeah. So, again, this kind of added to the frustration of getting it, you know, so closely, like, you know, with the nine months with each other. I did experience, like, the slight shortness of breath or just kind of that feeling of, you know, something's not quite right. I'm not sure what's going on, but I don't feel like I used to kind of that feeling. It that started to go away, I would say, maybe a couple months before I got Covid the second time. And I would say kind of, back to that point. Now I'm, I still kind of catch myself getting out of breath. But also, I mean, admittedly, I have a lifestyle that probably doesn't help that sort of thing either, so it's kind of hard to say. But, nothing that's been like a detriment to my lifestyle by any means.

Kevin Hawthorne: Yeah. By lifestyle. What do you mean by that?

Alexis Mitchell: I would just say, you know, I classic stuff. I don't really exercise as much. I do, smoke occasionally. So, you know, I just. Well, I don't want to minimize, you know, long Covid effects. I do, you know, take that seriously. I also want to be honest with myself and be like, well, you know, I could do more cardio and certain things that might help with my lung capacity, for sure.

Kevin Hawthorne: No, absolutely. And, what you've said is honestly pretty common with a lot of people is it's easy to think that in 2024, four years out from the big, biggest waves, that it's over. But it truly is still ongoing. And, has it made you consider more options of like being needing to be more careful with maybe wearing masks more often, like, it seems like we all were wearing masks for like two years straight. And then as soon as it said we didn't need to, we all kind of ditched it, maybe a little too easily. Has it made you start to consider stuff like that?

Alexis Mitchell: Oh, yeah. Definitely. I would say, you know, I was definitely masking longer than what maybe most of society was at that point, if that makes sense. I and there are still situations where I will, you know, mask, definitely always on like an airplane. If I'm out, like a concert or just, I know I'm going to be in a crowd that's going to be, like, in an enclosed space. I, you know, will wear a mask or at least consider wearing a mask or bring one with me. But as far as, like, more of the interpersonal hangouts, I don't really mask, again, that's was one of the preventable situations. I could have probably avoided getting Covid a second time had I done that. So going forward, you know, or ever since May, when I got it a second time from a close family member, I've definitely, I'll be considering masking, you know, for this upcoming holiday season. Like a Thanksgiving or, you know, over the holidays, something like that.

Kevin Hawthorne: Right. And so overall, I want to ask you of your thoughts of the response to Covid, both on the national government and your local, like, you know, Michigan government. How did you feel the response was from each of those?

Alexis Mitchell: I mean, of course, you know, we could have always done more, but, that's also a really big ask, especially for, you know, America where our cultural like, I guess position is more so, on an individual basis, like a individualism kind of approach versus like a cultural community approach. So getting, you know, or explaining a our community that has that culture that, yes, you have to do something that might not protect you. Exactly. But it you know, it's protecting other people. And that community kind of having pushback naturally. I think the responses were maybe lacking, but also I don't know if they did more if that really would have made a difference. Michigan was one of the states and I was very grateful at the time, especially still am. You know, that had a really good response, or at least like relative to other states around the country. I believe, you know, the local government was pretty good, too. I kind of wish that maybe having those vaccine checks, like, for restaurants or certain things could have maybe been implemented here, like they were over in, like, California. I went to San Francisco and I believe it was June of or January of 2021 or 2022, I can't remember. And, you know, I had to bring my vax card and everyone was still masking. But then I came home and nobody was really doing that. So I guess maybe just as an example of what could have been done but wasn't.

Kevin Hawthorne: And are you? Do you think you still see the effects of Covid? Just not in your personal life? Obviously, as you said, you contracted very recently, but you still think you see some of the effects of Covid just affecting your community.

Alexis Mitchell: I would say so. I mean, there's still. You know, Covid in a lot of cases can cause long term effects. Like, not even just long Covid, both like and like a immune response. So I would say generally, I've noticed like, people just kind of getting sicker or, you know, if they, they get like a common cold. I've seen a lot of, like, anecdotal stuff online about people saying like, oh, I have a cold, but it's like really bad this year or something like that. So I would say generally, the community I would say is. More sickly, if that's okay to say. But also, I mean, I think there's still a little bit of a divide between the people who believe in vaccines, people who don't. So there's like, but the physical and social aspect for sure.

Kevin Hawthorne: In your area, did you feel like a big divide between, like, vaxxers and anti-vaxxers?

Alexis Mitchell: Oh, yeah, I would say, the area that I live is a pretty mixed area. So, as far as like political stance, unfortunately, you know, this was politicized. So I would say it was kind of a mix. You never really knew what the person sitting next to you in the grocery store, like, thought about, you know, vaccines or, you know, you kind of see someone wearing a mask in public and you go and you're wearing a mask and you're like, you give them a nod, but then, like, you know, you have a half other store who, like, doesn't give a crap. Like they'll just like, cough in your face if they want to. Like I would say it's definitely a little bit of a divide for sure.

Kevin Hawthorne: Absolutely. And, just in general, after experiencing something like this, how does this make you feel about the future with in terms of like if there is another global pandemic, how does it make you feel this response? How does that color your perception of the future?

Alexis Mitchell: I'm hoping that because we've been through before, maybe people will. It won't be so new. So maybe people will be a little bit more, understanding or gracious towards each other. Unfortunately, it's kind of like been desensitized in a bit. So that's like, I guess my hope for the social side. But the physical side, I would say, I'm a little worried about, you know, people's like I mentioned earlier, their immune system. We kind of all took a beating, to be honest. So I'm a little worried on how our bodies are equipped to kind of handle any future illness.

Kevin Hawthorne: All right. And just is there any other thoughts on Covid 19 that you would like to discuss that you think we haven't brought up?

Alexis Mitchell: No, not really. I think, documenting it is really important too. So like this interviews. Great. Are great. Step in doing that. One of my fears, I guess, is that people, you know, ten, 15 years from now will kind of minimize, this issue and, you know, maybe not learn from it as they could. Because I think that's just kind of how a lot of, you know, big events in history kind of end up for sure. Yeah.

Kevin Hawthorne: Yeah. You mentioned politicize, politicization. And obviously there was lots of people who were like, this is literally just a pandemic. They shouldn't be politicized. But obviously it was. And is it just make you feel uncomfortable in an era where it seems like even the littlest thing can be politicized?

Alexis Mitchell: I would say it's definitely annoying. I know that's not a very good answer, but, my main concern is just like, look, look out for yourself and others. I don't know if that's my main hope. If you. I don't really care who you vote for. As long as you care enough about your neighbor to, like, not try to get them sick.

Kevin Hawthorne: Yeah. So you would think that community building and like, forming communities is more important than like a lot of, you know, people saying we need to like, legislate stuff like this, like communities always the most important. Is that what you'd say?

Alexis Mitchell: Yeah. Yeah, I would definitely say that. All right. I mean, legislation definitely helps, you know? Yeah.

Kevin Hawthorne: Yeah. Not to minimize legislation, but actually, it feels like community can sometimes be left by the wayside. All right. Again any other final thoughts you have.

Alexis Mitchell: No, I think that was it.

Kevin Hawthorne: All right. Thank you.

Alexis Mitchell: Thank you.