“I want to get rid of this constant undercurrent of ‘everything’s different right now,’’” said Gilbert, a longtime New York City resident living in Prospect Heights, Booklyn. “We have to be aware of so many things right now. I mean it gets exhausting, just kind of tiring mentally.”

As the federal government and pharmaceutical companies race towards a vaccine for COVID-19, Americans have mixed emotions about it. A large part of that comes from conflicting information from different sources.

“I just simply don’t know what to think about a vaccine at all,” said Domanik, a pastor at Falls Church in Menomonee Falls, Wis. “Because I’m just hearing a lot of different things from a lot of different news outlets.” 

Trish Gilbert, a longtime New York resident plans to see what side effects a COVID-19 vaccine could have on seniors. Photo Courtesy of Trish Gilbert

For Gilbert, a recent pledge by nine drug companies to ‘stand by science’ gave her comfort that once the vaccine is released to the public, that it would be safe. Yet she was hesitant to be first in line, citing potential side effects for older people as a cause for concern.

“I would probably wait until a friend of mine who is a senior person at a big pharmaceutical company tells his parents to go ahead and get the vaccine,” Gilbert said. “And then I would think, ‘all right, I can trust it.’ Because it’s so hard to know what the facts are when you’re just reading the newspaper and so many people are manipulating science for political ends on the right and on the left.”

Domanik was more concerned about how the vaccine would be distributed. He wanted to be sure that vaccination would be done right the first time.

“I just want to know what the actual plan is in terms of its release,” Domanik noted. Adding, “I want it to be administered and distributed right. I want it to be safe. I want it to be ethical. I want it to be quick, expedient, and I want it to be easy for the public to get.”

For Tay, a Singaporean living in New York for the last three years, his Christian faith gave him a sense of calm while he waits for the vaccine to come.

“There is peace and that peace is the one that is usurping the anxiety and therefore gives me hope, which is a great

Tony Domanik, a pastor in Wisconsin, wants a vaccine to be distributed fairly. Photo Courtesy of Tony Domanik

thing, said Tay. “Otherwise I may have euthanized myself a few weeks ago.”

Gilbert noted that far from being the “great equalizer” as Madonna predicted back in March, COVID-19 has disproportionately affected minorities and people of lower income.

“If anything, it has accentuated, it’s made more apparent what the cruel inequity is in our country rather than equalizing,” Gilbert said. “You go to the Upper East Side, and it’s practically empty because people just decamped to their summer homes and weekend homes just to keep themselves safe. Whereas if you’re living in a dense neighborhood, densely populated and you have more people than maybe would be ideal in any living space, you can’t social distance.”

Tay has found the lockdown to be a time of personal renewal, and has gained an increased awareness of the needs of others, and a desire to be kinder.

“I think there’s a lot of good things that have come out of COVID,” Tay said. “People being kinder and me as a Christian also acknowledging that there are people of different faiths, backgrounds, different walks of life. And with the racial debate and predicament that we find ourselves in just makes me as an individual want to embrace and be kinder to people more than before.”

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Crowds waited to visit the reopened Statue of Liberty on Sunday through New York State funding. Photo by Lea Bouchoucha

National Park Service workers at the Statue of Liberty were called back to work on Sunday morning as the Statue of Liberty reopened its doors to visitors.

They had been sent home for 12 days as a result of the first partial government shutdown in more than a decade. New York State agreed to shoulder the costs of running the site for a period of six days from October 12 through October 17. The states of Arizona, Colorado, North Dakota and Utah, also took on for the cost of their respective national park operations.

David Cespedes, 31, returned to work on Liberty Island on Sunday after 12 days out of work due to the government shut down.  Photo by Lea Bouchoucha

David Cespedes, 31, a park service worker, received a call from his supervisor on Saturday asking him to return to work the next day.

“I am personally worried because I have kids, family, rent and bills to pay,” said Cespedes who lives in Woodside, Queens. He is also studying criminal justice at Berkeley College.

Cespedes did not get paid in full for the time he was off work. Friday, he received only a partial payment of 40 hours.

“My family was shocked because for me it is the first time that this [a government shutdown] happens,” he said. Cespedes came to the U.S. in 1994 from the Dominican Republic. He has been working at the Statue of Liberty for four years.

Since the start of government shutdown on Oct.1^st, about 800,000 federal workers like Cespedes have been sent home.

“They [the Government] are losing money and people need to work and to support their family, ” said Cespedes.

According to figures compiled by the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, more than 7 million Americans were kept out of the parks during the first 10 days of the shutdown.

But Sunday morning in Battery Park, hundreds of tourists lined up to be among the first to see Lady Liberty. Marc Grenier from Quebec, Canada said he felt very glad when he found the Statue Of Liberty reopened. The 305-foot-tall monument is one of New York City’s most popular tourist attractions.

Joel Kukuh, 21, studies criminal law and works part time for the Parks Department. He also returned to work on Liberty Island on Sunday, with NY State funding. Photo by Lea Bouchoucha

Joel Kukuh, 21, is also a parks department employee.

“A lot of people showed up today,”said Kukuh. I guess they must have heard the news around the city. It is good to have people here because it makes you feel proud.”

Kukuh received less than half of his regular salary because of the shutdown.

New York State has paid for six days, about $61,600 a day, to reopen Liberty Island National Park.

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