Alexander Seidel, August 22nd, 2024
Title
Alexander Seidel, August 22nd, 2024
Description
In this interview, Alexander Seidel shares what Covid-19 was like for him and his family and the measures they took to stay safe.
Publisher
Detroit Historical Society
Rights
Detroit Historical Society
Language
en-US
Narrator/Interviewee's Name
Alexander Seidel
Brief Biography
Alexander Seidel is a lifelong resident of Troy, Michigan and a medical student at Wayne State University.
Interviewer's Name
Doris Lanzkron-Tamarazo
Date
8/22/2024
Interview Length
19:45
Transcription
Doris Lanzkron-Tamarazo: I'm Doris Lanzkron-Tamarazo, it's August 22nd, 2024, and I'm on Zoom with. Please say your name.
Alexander Seidel: My name is Alexander Seidel, S e i d e l.
DLT: Thank you. And where do you live?
AS: I live in Troy, Michigan and I've lived there for my entire life. I am twenty-four years old.
DLT: And when did you first hear about Covid-19?
AS: I have, I learned about Covid-19 in I want to say, the early months of like, February of 202[0]. I remember hearing about some of the concerns, in terms of where it originated, internationally. And I remember, I believe it was in March when I— It was right before a local election, and right after that local election, it was announced that there was a case in Michigan and everyone went remote.
DLT: And how did this switch to remote initially affect you?
AS: So at Oakland University, which is where I attended undergrad in early 2020, the switch was about, I would say it was smoother on my end. I got to stay home. I had a computer. I had a stable internet connection. And many of the lectures were recorded, rather than livestreamed. So, it was just a matter of me going on to the computer and listening to a lecture.
DLT: So would you say it didn't significantly diminish your learning?
AS: I would say that no, it did not. My teachers were able to adjust their curriculum effectively to an online format.
DLT: And was it difficult to readjust back to in-person learning when that started up again?
AS: It was a little bit more, because I had to schedule waking up and going into class and making— Rather than just relaxing with a pre-recorded lecture or a rare, live Zoom.
DLT: And do you think your classmates had a similar experience to you, or do you think they had more difficulty with the change in formats?
AS: Frankly, because of the switch to online learning, I didn't really interact with my classmates all that much. I didn't have, I didn't exchange a lot of Discord or Skype, phone numbers, before that point. And I wasn't an avid texter, because I had a flip phone. So, from a social perspective, I was kind of isolated from the rest of the college.
DLT: And did you personally contract Covid-19?
AS: No.
DLT: Were there a lot of people in your social circles, whether family or friends, that did contract Covid-19, from your knowledge?
AS: The handful of people I did have contact information with, and I talked with, they— There was a couple instances of people having contracted Covid, and usually it wasn't the whole family, and they were able to recover very well. No known instances of long Covid.
DLT: So you weren't aware of any very severe cases in people you knew?
AS: No.
DLT: And how did you feel about the shelter-in-place orders at the time, and have your opinions on that changed over time?
AS: I did not have any issues with the shelter-in-place orders. I felt that the news media that I was receivin had a convincing argument, which was that this is a novel thing. We are learning about how this disease is transmitted. And we want to make sure that the hospitals are not overwhelmed, so that people can get the care that they need. And if that means staying home and wearing a mask when you go out and washing your hands very, you know, religiously, then I had no qualms with that methodology or approach.
DLT: And what were you doing while you were sheltering in place? Did you have any activities that you didn't, wouldn't have done before the pandemic, or was it more business as usual?
AS: From an academic perspective, it was very much business as usual. The only difference was it was all online, with the rare in-person event, like a laboratory exercise—which even then was kept to a minimum, social distancing was implemented. And you came in and then you left. In terms of day-to-day-living, I would say that I wasn't able to go out and visit with friends. That was limited to online calls via platforms like Discord. There were times where I could arrange online watch parties with friends, or just, you know, have an extended phone call. But in-person meeting was suspended for pretty much the first two years.
DLT: And were these online alternatives a good substitute for in-person interactions? Or did they feel insufficient?
AS: I would say that they were passable. They worked. But I would say it was not necessarily a replacement for an in-person activity. And just, you know, being able to talk face-to-face.
DLT: And when those interactions opened up again, did you notice any differences from how they would have been prior to shutdowns?
AS: Other than a little bit of social rustiness, as I will call it, where people are, like, getting used to the idea of first looking at each other with masks on, but then trying to just kind of get back into the flavor of just relaxing. Beyond that, I would say, the— Outside of a friends group, the only real concern was that, as you mentioned, there were some— People had different opinions on masking mandates and how the situation was playing out. And wearing a mask in public was—especially when the mask mandates were lifted—it was in some ways considered a political statement, although I don't think that was appropriate. It was a health concern. And so that could create some unspoken social friction.
DLT: And do you think that the rustiness you mentioned, and that social friction, have dthose iminished over time, or does some of that impact still linger?
AS: I think that is diminished, especially when people simply stopped wearing masks.
DLT: And what do you feel are the lasting impacts of Covid-19, whether on your life, on Metro Detroit, or on the larger world?
AS: Ooh, that's a tough one. I think in many ways, it's raised public awareness of disease and spread of disease and the impact that can have on day-to-day-life. I can expand upon how life kind of changed from my daily routine perspective, when the mask mandates were raised and we were all looking out to trying to prevent the spread. But broadly, I think that communities that were not able to attain personal protective equipment, sanitation supplies or even had limited, like, were skeptical about vaccines and certain types of medical interventions, I think it's exposed a lot of medical inequities. And, I think that moving forward we all have— At least within my current situation in medical education, I think there's a heightened awareness within our class over trying to address some of those health inequities moving forward.
DLT: And it having been four years since the shutdowns began, do you feel that any of your opinions on the pandemic have changed in that time?
AS: No.
DLT: And what lessons would you say you hope were learned through the pandemic?
AS: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. But at the same time, if I'm going to be a little skeptical, I would say that it may be difficult to stop and prevent another airborne disease, like Covid-19, from spreading again due to the rapid politicalization of that topic when mask mandates came up and medical care was trying to be administered.
DLT: So do you think that another pandemic might play out similarly to this one with a lot of polarization?
AS: I think that it depends on whether it reaches a certain inflection point, to use a math term. I notice I'm like— Both before Covid and after Covid, I've been aware of situations where health officials have pursued prevention of cases. But I still read in the paper that there are sometimes diseases that get spread around with different animals, different animal populations, or a particular disease that shows up in North America again. And I would say post-Covid, I'm a little bit more concerned that rapid spreading can occur and issues may arise. I don't think we, I don't know if we'll have the mask mandates as we did during Covid. But I would say that I'm definitely more conscious and and definitely more, I wouldn't say paranoid, but anxious. I hope that answers your question.
DLT: Yeah, definitely. And was there anything else you wanted to discuss regarding your experience with Covid-19 that none of my questions have brought up?
AS: Let's see. I have a couple points that I had. From a day-to day-perspective during the height of the Covid masking pandemic, there was a period of time where no one really knew how it was spread. You didn't know if it was airborne. We didn't know if it was spread via physical contact. And as a result, those initial few months were very much, you took all the precautions you could. I remember, since I had a large family, we were lucky enough to have some spare, Lysol wipes at the ready. So when we went shopping, we would actually wipe down all of our groceries with the equivalent of a bleach wipe. And we had a method to try to keep things as clean as possible. It was the first time my family kind of, like, recognized: Oh, wait a minute, we go into a store and they don't, there's limited options. That things went out of stock and you didn't really know when they would come back in stock. So you tended to buy a little bit more than what you needed, when you could. I remember having to be a little adaptable. Paper towels were scarce, so we actually found a pack of towelettes that you could order on Amazon. And we used those and we just threw them in the washing machine instead of using paper towels. In terms of family, I would say that family visits were kept to a minimum, and that created a lot of anxiety with my grandfather, who developed dementia during, it was 2020 through 2021. He passed away about a year ago. But during that time, he was living independently in Buffalo, New York. And so, it was kind of tricky, because he was no longer able to care for himself, and so we would have to sometimes make an emergency trip up to Buffalo. And eventually, we were able to get a caregiver for him. That was not easy, because of the caregiver shortage, but we were able to do that. Eventually he was able to be moved closer to Michigan, so that we could better look after his health.
On the topic of socialization, I had a personal experience where I had a phone, a flip phone that went through the wash, and it died. And it was kind of a wake up call, because that phone contained phone numbers and contact information, the only copy of phone numbers and contact information that I had with old acquaintances, and because the phone died and they could not extract those phone numbers, I lost contact with those individuals. Because you couldn't even go in-person to interact. Then I would say that the— In 2021, I had a work experience working with Progressions [Rehabilitations], which is an organization that provides care for individuals with traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries. And while for me, I wore a mask and I did my caregiving duties, for some of the residents there, it was a massive change. They lost all of their extracurricular outdoor activities, and they were cooped up in their rooms pretty much all day. And because I worked at a house that was primarily filled with residents who had behavioral issues, the behavioral issues as a result of not being able to see family, having a massive change in routine, created a lot of friction that I had to manage. And the final thing I want to bring up is that, I don't even know if I still have the newspaper article, but I found out that— On the topic of the political nature of masks, my great-uncle got into an altercation with a man in a bar. My uncle was wearing a mask. The individual was not. My great-uncle asked, he said, hey, you know, the safety issue, could you put on your mask? And the person got agitated, they got angry, and they pushed over my great-uncle onto the floor. And he suffered a serious injury to his head, and he passed away because of that. And to me, that bad memory stuck with me. That's all I really have. Are there any other questions you have for me?
DLT: No, that was all I had today. Thank you.
AS: All right.
Alexander Seidel: My name is Alexander Seidel, S e i d e l.
DLT: Thank you. And where do you live?
AS: I live in Troy, Michigan and I've lived there for my entire life. I am twenty-four years old.
DLT: And when did you first hear about Covid-19?
AS: I have, I learned about Covid-19 in I want to say, the early months of like, February of 202[0]. I remember hearing about some of the concerns, in terms of where it originated, internationally. And I remember, I believe it was in March when I— It was right before a local election, and right after that local election, it was announced that there was a case in Michigan and everyone went remote.
DLT: And how did this switch to remote initially affect you?
AS: So at Oakland University, which is where I attended undergrad in early 2020, the switch was about, I would say it was smoother on my end. I got to stay home. I had a computer. I had a stable internet connection. And many of the lectures were recorded, rather than livestreamed. So, it was just a matter of me going on to the computer and listening to a lecture.
DLT: So would you say it didn't significantly diminish your learning?
AS: I would say that no, it did not. My teachers were able to adjust their curriculum effectively to an online format.
DLT: And was it difficult to readjust back to in-person learning when that started up again?
AS: It was a little bit more, because I had to schedule waking up and going into class and making— Rather than just relaxing with a pre-recorded lecture or a rare, live Zoom.
DLT: And do you think your classmates had a similar experience to you, or do you think they had more difficulty with the change in formats?
AS: Frankly, because of the switch to online learning, I didn't really interact with my classmates all that much. I didn't have, I didn't exchange a lot of Discord or Skype, phone numbers, before that point. And I wasn't an avid texter, because I had a flip phone. So, from a social perspective, I was kind of isolated from the rest of the college.
DLT: And did you personally contract Covid-19?
AS: No.
DLT: Were there a lot of people in your social circles, whether family or friends, that did contract Covid-19, from your knowledge?
AS: The handful of people I did have contact information with, and I talked with, they— There was a couple instances of people having contracted Covid, and usually it wasn't the whole family, and they were able to recover very well. No known instances of long Covid.
DLT: So you weren't aware of any very severe cases in people you knew?
AS: No.
DLT: And how did you feel about the shelter-in-place orders at the time, and have your opinions on that changed over time?
AS: I did not have any issues with the shelter-in-place orders. I felt that the news media that I was receivin had a convincing argument, which was that this is a novel thing. We are learning about how this disease is transmitted. And we want to make sure that the hospitals are not overwhelmed, so that people can get the care that they need. And if that means staying home and wearing a mask when you go out and washing your hands very, you know, religiously, then I had no qualms with that methodology or approach.
DLT: And what were you doing while you were sheltering in place? Did you have any activities that you didn't, wouldn't have done before the pandemic, or was it more business as usual?
AS: From an academic perspective, it was very much business as usual. The only difference was it was all online, with the rare in-person event, like a laboratory exercise—which even then was kept to a minimum, social distancing was implemented. And you came in and then you left. In terms of day-to-day-living, I would say that I wasn't able to go out and visit with friends. That was limited to online calls via platforms like Discord. There were times where I could arrange online watch parties with friends, or just, you know, have an extended phone call. But in-person meeting was suspended for pretty much the first two years.
DLT: And were these online alternatives a good substitute for in-person interactions? Or did they feel insufficient?
AS: I would say that they were passable. They worked. But I would say it was not necessarily a replacement for an in-person activity. And just, you know, being able to talk face-to-face.
DLT: And when those interactions opened up again, did you notice any differences from how they would have been prior to shutdowns?
AS: Other than a little bit of social rustiness, as I will call it, where people are, like, getting used to the idea of first looking at each other with masks on, but then trying to just kind of get back into the flavor of just relaxing. Beyond that, I would say, the— Outside of a friends group, the only real concern was that, as you mentioned, there were some— People had different opinions on masking mandates and how the situation was playing out. And wearing a mask in public was—especially when the mask mandates were lifted—it was in some ways considered a political statement, although I don't think that was appropriate. It was a health concern. And so that could create some unspoken social friction.
DLT: And do you think that the rustiness you mentioned, and that social friction, have dthose iminished over time, or does some of that impact still linger?
AS: I think that is diminished, especially when people simply stopped wearing masks.
DLT: And what do you feel are the lasting impacts of Covid-19, whether on your life, on Metro Detroit, or on the larger world?
AS: Ooh, that's a tough one. I think in many ways, it's raised public awareness of disease and spread of disease and the impact that can have on day-to-day-life. I can expand upon how life kind of changed from my daily routine perspective, when the mask mandates were raised and we were all looking out to trying to prevent the spread. But broadly, I think that communities that were not able to attain personal protective equipment, sanitation supplies or even had limited, like, were skeptical about vaccines and certain types of medical interventions, I think it's exposed a lot of medical inequities. And, I think that moving forward we all have— At least within my current situation in medical education, I think there's a heightened awareness within our class over trying to address some of those health inequities moving forward.
DLT: And it having been four years since the shutdowns began, do you feel that any of your opinions on the pandemic have changed in that time?
AS: No.
DLT: And what lessons would you say you hope were learned through the pandemic?
AS: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. But at the same time, if I'm going to be a little skeptical, I would say that it may be difficult to stop and prevent another airborne disease, like Covid-19, from spreading again due to the rapid politicalization of that topic when mask mandates came up and medical care was trying to be administered.
DLT: So do you think that another pandemic might play out similarly to this one with a lot of polarization?
AS: I think that it depends on whether it reaches a certain inflection point, to use a math term. I notice I'm like— Both before Covid and after Covid, I've been aware of situations where health officials have pursued prevention of cases. But I still read in the paper that there are sometimes diseases that get spread around with different animals, different animal populations, or a particular disease that shows up in North America again. And I would say post-Covid, I'm a little bit more concerned that rapid spreading can occur and issues may arise. I don't think we, I don't know if we'll have the mask mandates as we did during Covid. But I would say that I'm definitely more conscious and and definitely more, I wouldn't say paranoid, but anxious. I hope that answers your question.
DLT: Yeah, definitely. And was there anything else you wanted to discuss regarding your experience with Covid-19 that none of my questions have brought up?
AS: Let's see. I have a couple points that I had. From a day-to day-perspective during the height of the Covid masking pandemic, there was a period of time where no one really knew how it was spread. You didn't know if it was airborne. We didn't know if it was spread via physical contact. And as a result, those initial few months were very much, you took all the precautions you could. I remember, since I had a large family, we were lucky enough to have some spare, Lysol wipes at the ready. So when we went shopping, we would actually wipe down all of our groceries with the equivalent of a bleach wipe. And we had a method to try to keep things as clean as possible. It was the first time my family kind of, like, recognized: Oh, wait a minute, we go into a store and they don't, there's limited options. That things went out of stock and you didn't really know when they would come back in stock. So you tended to buy a little bit more than what you needed, when you could. I remember having to be a little adaptable. Paper towels were scarce, so we actually found a pack of towelettes that you could order on Amazon. And we used those and we just threw them in the washing machine instead of using paper towels. In terms of family, I would say that family visits were kept to a minimum, and that created a lot of anxiety with my grandfather, who developed dementia during, it was 2020 through 2021. He passed away about a year ago. But during that time, he was living independently in Buffalo, New York. And so, it was kind of tricky, because he was no longer able to care for himself, and so we would have to sometimes make an emergency trip up to Buffalo. And eventually, we were able to get a caregiver for him. That was not easy, because of the caregiver shortage, but we were able to do that. Eventually he was able to be moved closer to Michigan, so that we could better look after his health.
On the topic of socialization, I had a personal experience where I had a phone, a flip phone that went through the wash, and it died. And it was kind of a wake up call, because that phone contained phone numbers and contact information, the only copy of phone numbers and contact information that I had with old acquaintances, and because the phone died and they could not extract those phone numbers, I lost contact with those individuals. Because you couldn't even go in-person to interact. Then I would say that the— In 2021, I had a work experience working with Progressions [Rehabilitations], which is an organization that provides care for individuals with traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries. And while for me, I wore a mask and I did my caregiving duties, for some of the residents there, it was a massive change. They lost all of their extracurricular outdoor activities, and they were cooped up in their rooms pretty much all day. And because I worked at a house that was primarily filled with residents who had behavioral issues, the behavioral issues as a result of not being able to see family, having a massive change in routine, created a lot of friction that I had to manage. And the final thing I want to bring up is that, I don't even know if I still have the newspaper article, but I found out that— On the topic of the political nature of masks, my great-uncle got into an altercation with a man in a bar. My uncle was wearing a mask. The individual was not. My great-uncle asked, he said, hey, you know, the safety issue, could you put on your mask? And the person got agitated, they got angry, and they pushed over my great-uncle onto the floor. And he suffered a serious injury to his head, and he passed away because of that. And to me, that bad memory stuck with me. That's all I really have. Are there any other questions you have for me?
DLT: No, that was all I had today. Thank you.
AS: All right.
Files
Collection
Citation
“Alexander Seidel, August 22nd, 2024,” Detroit Historical Society Oral History Archive, accessed January 18, 2025, https://detroit1967.detroithistorical.org/items/show/1056.