In 2021, a coalition of national museum and library associations awarded the Peale (Baltimore, Maryland) a Communities for Immunity grant. The goal of the project is for trusted, local institutions to engage their communities in order to boost COVID-19 vaccine confidence. Since being awarded the grant, we've been gathering stories from people about their experiences with COVID and getting the vaccine. This story was recorded in partnership with our friends at the Stoop Storytelling Series, here in Baltimore.
Malia (00:06): Hi. As you've heard, my name is Malia. And I just want to say before I start that I've always been really good in school. This was in elementary school, so it's Es, and Gs, and stuff. So, I've always really had Es.
Malia (00:28): So, when COVID started, it was still okay. But, then when we had the virtual school, my grades, they were still Gs. Then I got bored, because it's virtual school, and I just sat on my bed, on my computer. So, then I wasn't really paying attention to that. Then my grades dropped even lower.
Malia (01:04): Then maybe a week or a few weeks, or something, after that, my family wasn't doing so well. My parents were just really sick and stuff. So, I wasn't really bothered by it, because it was just a cold.
Malia (01:32): It really wasn't because it never got better. So, my parents decided to go to Patient First, and we found out that they both had COVID, and my mom, she had pneumonia. And my dad... He was... It's not really that deep. He was just hospitalized, but I was really scared, because my aunt called me saying, "Hey Malia, your parents have COVID." And I thought, I know he's going to die. Because, I couldn't really see him. And when I did call him, he couldn't really talk.
Malia (02:41): My mom, she stayed in the hospital for a few of days, but then she could come back home. But, she couldn't really do a lot of stuff when she was at home. So, I had to help take care of her since, she couldn't do anything. And then I had to take care of my sister, [McKayla 00:03:09], because, I think she was like five or six.
Malia (03:17): Also, I'm 11 now. Maybe, I was like nine. Or 10, because I have a late birthday. I just, helped her up with her at school and stuff and I made sure she was okay. And going to bed at a good time. But she doesn't really like being told what to do. It was okay, taking care of her, I guess. But I still had my own school to do, so that was actually the hard part. And then taking care of my dog was fine because I was used to it. It's just having to do all that in one day.
Asset ID: 2022.05.28
Find a complete transcript on the Peale's website.
Photo by Aaron Curtis
The views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in the recordings for this project do not necessarily represent those of the Peale or the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
