I've been devoting a bunch of my time lately to building out a training program
@Ninety_West
.
As a part of that process, I created this fun little guide to respectfully & thoughtfully pitching stories to journalists. Take a look -- hope it's helpful!
As we mourn and await the names and stories of Jewish congregants lost in Pittsburgh, there are 2 more names to say tonight:
Vickie Lee Jones
Maurice E. Stallard.
Murdered by a similar face of hate in Kentucky on Thursday. May their memories be a blessing.
Just a reminder that Massachusetts is going to unlimited capacity indoor dining starting tomorrow while the CDC begs us not to, and it’s super embarrassing that no one can articulate a justification why other than 🤷🏻♂️ 🤷🏻♂️ 🤷🏻♂️
Every story about Massachusetts “reopening” today would benefit from a reminder that a restaurant worker, teacher, or school staff under the age of 65 with one severe comorbidity cannot get a vaccine in Massachusetts today.
New rule: if you’re an elected official who actively downplayed the seriousness of COVID, called it a hoax, or cried about wearing your mask you can get your vaccine but only after a public apology to all of the 300,000+ families in this country who at grieving right now.
I don’t think I’ve experienced a point in the pandemic where the disconnect between extreme loss of life and the “time to move on!” chorus has been as strong as it is right now.
3,261 people died of COVID in the US yesterday. For all those still trying to save lives, thank you.
65 people attended a wedding in Maine on August 7.
53 people have now tested positive for COVID-19, and one person is now dead who did not attend but caught it from a guest.
A reminder that your refusal to not be an asshole impacts everyone around you.
Memo to potential candidates considering a run someday across America: our only paid television ads for the ENTIRE
@ayannapressley
campaign were on Telemundo and Univision. Besides that, our message was spread entirely on the doors, phones, and via social and earned media.
BECKY HINDMAN of Kittanning, Pennsylvania, died of COVID on April 9, 2021.
"My great Aunt Becky was a kind and thoughtful woman...She was only a week away from getting her second Covid vaccine shot which makes her loss especially heartbreaking."
An absolute avalanche of obituaries coming into
@FacesOfCOVID
through all the channels I usually find them — I haven’t seen this many of folks in their 40s and 50s since April.
It is a disaster zone out there. Stay home. Please.
Been asked a lot lately about what motivates the work of remembering the dead on
@FacesOfCOVID
10 months into this nightmare, and I'd say this just about sums it up the "why" right now
So many teachers and school staff are among the
@FacesOfCOVID
posts I've scheduled for the week. A number got sick at school and died weeks later. A few very close to retirement.
Catastrophic community losses.
The pandemic has claimed the lives of many Holocaust survivors who deserved more years to educate & tell their stories.
On Int'l Holocaust Remembrance Day, a 🧵of 18 survivors we've lost to COVID. We will keep telling their stories. More of their stories
@FacesOfCOVID
.
1/11
Exactly one year ago, at 8:27AM on March 31st, 2020 -- I posted this, the first story on
@FacesOfCOVID
.
I had no idea what was coming, but like so many people, I was looking for a way to process the darkness that was enveloping us. 1/
John Knox, of Rockaway New York, died on March 16th of COVID-19 at age 84. He was a former FDNY Fire Marshal, firefighter, labor leader, U.S. marine, and first responder on 9/11 who worked at ground zero. Learn more about John in
@NYDailyNews
:
Loaded in today's stories
@FacesOfCOVID
early this morning. They include a 14 year old boy in Wisconsin and a math teacher in Maryland who had returned to work.
Both died over the last few weeks. This. Is. Not. Over.
As a nation, we have not begun to process what it means to have 320,000 of our family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers disappear from our lives, day after day.
After 9 months of sharing their stories on
@FacesOfCOVID
, this is what I remember.
Good morning to all my new trolls coming for me this AM because I expressed concerns about my state's foolish reopening plans my name is Alex and I've spent a full year chronicling stories of those we've lost to COVID and I'm fucking tired of people dying.
6,658 people died of COVID in the U.S. in the past 48 hours.
They weren't just numbers -- they had families who loved them and communities who relied upon them.
Their loss, like those we've sustained every other day over the past two years, is a catastrophe.
The ages of today's
@FacesOfCOVID
stories are:
60
57
62
52
60
56
Over a year into this pandemic, with vaccines finally nearing wide distribution, this is who we are losing.
These are preventable deaths. This. Is. Not. Over.
This afternoon I scheduled posts on
@FacesOfCOVID
for five more firefighters who have died in the past 2-3 weeks from COVID.
First one will post tonight at 8PM EST.
Firefighter Leonard Coney of Shreveport.
The pandemic is not over.
A word for all of those mourning a recent loss to this never-ending pandemic, or approaching and facing the anniversary of your loved one’s passing to COVID-19.
Millions of us see you. We are all less for what you’ve lost.
We will remember them.
I can honestly say that in the past 8 months I've never seen this many confirmed COVID obituaries in just one night of research. There are hundreds of them.
The loss out there is absolutely staggering.
I received this note the other day from an ICU nurse on the pandemic frontlines. We can’t even begin to heal until we acknowledge the extent of what all of us have lost and continue to lose.
@FacesOfCOVID
’s work is just beginning.
900,000 dead.
The normalization of 2,000-3,000 of our neighbors dying of COVID every single day.
We haven't even begun to come to process the long term consequences of this.
Today's
@FacesOfCOVID
stories are devastating.
A 13-year-old boy starting 8th grade.
A 51-year-old school teacher.
A 52-year-old National Guard medic doing COVID response.
A 46-year-old EMT.
18 months into this pandemic and the losses only grow. What a nightmare.
When my dad died in July, I remember how jarring it was to see the rest of the world go on as normal as my own world fell apart.
It has impacted my motivation for keeping
@FacesOfCOVID
going, as a daily affirmation w/o judgement to 800,000 families that we feel & see their loss.
Some have told me I shouldn't post stories on
@FacesOfCOVID
of people who are unvaccinated or whose vax status is unclear.
Sorry, but omitting them, many of whom were fatally lied to & misled, doesn't help the living make better decisions or make their families less broken.
Running
@FacesOfCOVID
is becoming increasingly bad for my blood pressure. Responses like this are constant. Putting aside that this man died in Jan. 2021 when very very few had access, this is a level of dehumanization I find exhausting. Their grieving families read these posts.
The stock market soared 430 points yesterday because evicting people in a pandemic helps the balance sheets of the major financial institutions in this country when the government refuses to provide aid.
I've been running
@FacesOfCOVID
since March 2020 and I've had to block more abusive/conspiracy-laden accounts in the past week than I have in the two and a half years leading up to it combined.
So many educators and school staff have died of COVID.
One of the most recent deaths was Stephen Broxton of Alabama, who died on Thursday -- an adored middle school teacher and basketball coach.
He was 42 years old.
STEPHEN BROXTON, 42, of Center Point, Alabama, died of COVID on Feb. 18, 2021.
He was a beloved teacher and basketball coach at Erwin Middle School. "This was his heart and passion: working with students..."
Over 2,000 of our family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers died of COVID yesterday in the United States in case anyone was under the mistaken impression that the pandemic was over.
Thinking of the hundreds of families I've spoken with over the past 10 months who've lost someone to COVID who will FINALLY see their federal government acknowledge the extent of our horrific losses tonight and it's a big f'ing deal.
In the coming days, families across the country will face the first anniversary of the passing of their loved ones to COVID.
They deserve to feel seen & I'll be posting regular "One Year Ago" tributes at
@FacesOfCOVID
. Would be grateful if you shared. Thank you!
Sofia Fedko, age 6, of Ukraine, died at the hands of Russian forces as she and her family attempted to flee the city of Kherson.
Her mother Irina, baby brother Ivan, and grandparents Anna and Oleg, were also killed in the attack.
In ‘18 my dad was deep into chemo & struggling terribly.
I coaxed him into coming to the office opening of a candidate I had just begun advising. He wept through
@ayannapressley
’s speech & signed up that day as a volunteer.
He said she gave him another reason to stick around.
Thinking a lot about the vast majority of stories we’ve shared
@FacesOfCOVID
, of people that didn’t have the luxury of a full wing of a world-class medical center, government health insurance, paid leave from work, access to cutting edge therapies and clinical trials.
“For three years, William and his father hid in the forests, avoiding capture and helping to sabotage Nazi rail lines using wits, luck, and the aid of the few neighbors who risked their lives helping them survive.”
WILLIAM GOOD, 96 died of COVID on Christmas Day, 2020.
"A remarkable man who survived the horrors of the holocaust to flourish in America & a skilled physician whose devotion to his patients was matched by his enthusiastic friendliness & mischievous wit."
There is a tragic connection between our sprint to pretend COVID is over and done with us, and our unwillingness/inability to truly process the loss of nearly 1,000,000 lives taken from this pandemic.
More people need to know their names.
After getting knocked out by COVID last week, and now spending the early AM loading in today's stories for
@FacesOfCOVID
of folks who died 2-3 weeks ago, it bears repeating:
COVID is still here. It is still lethal. And we still don't fully understand it and its consequences.
I felt hope for the first time in months watching health care workers across the nation get vaccinated.
But especially tonight, I’ll remember the names of their colleagues who didn’t make it to this moment.
Watching once more through tears.
"He was a loving father to 6 and loving grandfather to 18. He was arrested alongside his wife at the age of 77 for civil disobedience in support of marriage equality."
RICHARD WALTON, 86, of Asheville, North Carolina, died of breakthrough COVID on Jan. 18, 2022.
"He always fought for the underdog, whether he was treating patients in the 1980s with AIDS, who no other doctors would care for, or advocating for health insurance for all."
I can barely process today's
@FacesOfCOVID
stories.
A 38 year old pediatric ER nurse from Florida.
A 28 year old firefighter from North Carolina.
A 12 year old boy from Texas.
A 17 year old girl starting her senior year from Florida.
All lost to COVID in the past month.
Today is
#HolocaustRemembranceDay
— the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz & a moment to honor the memory of Europe’s Jews.
At 9am EST,
@FacesOfCOVID
will begin sharing stories of the many Holocaust survivors we’ve lost to this pandemic.
Say their names with us today.
A few folks have asked how I choose what goes into a
@FacesOfCOVID
post given character limits. How do you capture someone's life in a tweet?
Answer: you can't. Instead, I try to write them in such a way that, without seeing the name, their loved ones would know it was for them.
Among the stories of loss posting today
@FacesOfCOVID
:
A security guard from Oregon.
An elementary school student from Minnesota.
A nurse from New York.
A doctor from Virginia.
DOLORES NABORS VALASTRO, 88, of Denton, Texas, died of COVID on March 17, 2021.
"She was greatly loved by so many. A deeply kind and spiritual soul who believed that we are all connected. The world feels empty without her. I will miss you the rest of my life, mom."
Maybe instead of telling me “well it’s phase 3 group 7 section 47A of reopening” we could articulate clearly to the public why the science tells us now, at this very moment, we need to go full banquet-mode indoors at all restaurants
Last week I began devoting one post a day on the
@FacesOfCOVID
feed to a story of loss from beyond the US.
We need to see our own loved ones in the stories of those taken from us in every corner of the world. Thank you for continuing to follow and share.
Happy Thanksgiving.
To those who have lost someone, know that we see you -- and how hard this day is for you with your loved one missing from your table.
Today is a great day to send that text or make that call to someone who might be struggling today. It will mean something.
Every single morning I wake up and I see the names and stories and photos that were submitted overnight to
@FacesOfCOVID
and my heart drops.
The devastation is beyond comprehension. There will never be a return to "normal" -- nor should we ever aspire to it.
Can I just say poll workers, spending hours if not days indoors counting ballots in their masks in the middle of a pandemic m are absolute heroes of our democracy. Most are doing so either as volunteers or for minimum wage.
Over the last 15 months
@FacesOfCOVID
has shared less than 1% of the 601,000 stories of those lost to COVID in the US.
The history of this pandemic is being written (and in many cases rewritten) right now, & these stories are vital to recording it accurately.
I’m not stopping.
BLANCA & JUAN RODRIGUEZ of San Diego, California, died of COVID within four hours of each other on Feb. 8, 2021.
"My parents were my best friends....They were highschool sweethearts that were married for 48 years...they could not live without each other."
Our daily update is published. States reported 1.8 million tests, 210k cases, and a record 106,688 COVID-19 patients in US hospitals. There were 3,054 reported deaths today -- the highest single-day total to date.
We will not let 1,000,000 be a lifeless statistic without a face or a name.
We will tell their stories and preserve their memory.
We will stand with those they left behind.
To the millions who have lost a loved one to COVID over the past two years -- what is something you wish more people understood about your experience? And your grief?
STEPH KELLER, 39, of Omaha, Nebraska, died of COVID on April 5, 2021.
"Her laughter, her smile, her generous, passionate, caring, fun-loving spirit are deeply missed. She changed this earth for the better and her impact will continue ripple throughout the world."
1,000,000 lost to COVID is grim, but it was inevitable when we, as a country, tolerated 1,000, then 10,000, then 100,000, then 500,000.
Suffering one of the highest per capita death rates from COVID in the world didn't happen by accident.
A note for journalists: of the nearly 1,500 submissions I’ve received
@FacesOfCOVID
, about 75% of families have expressed a willingness/interest in speaking to reporters about their loved one. If you’d be interested in writing about someone in your area, I’d be honored to help.
Stepping away from social media for a while to be with my family as my best friend — my dad Howie — faces the end of his struggle w/ prostate cancer.
Grateful for the prayers of all faiths, & to those who can say tehillim. His Hebrew name is Yehoshua Yitzhak Ben Yaakov v’Sarah.
JAMES ST. MYER, 65, of Muncie, Indiana, died of COVID on Nov. 27, 2021.
"My dad was immunocompromised due to MS. He was fully vaccinated and had his booster, but contracted Covid from an unvaccinated employee at the nursing home he resided at. This was completely preventable."
I am at a Boston-area ER now with a sick family member — I can confidently say whatever you’ve read about how bad the health care capacity crisis in Massachusetts is, it’s worse. No hospital beds available and 104 very sick people spilling out wherever there is spare space.
I have been researching a
@FacesOfCOVID
thread for later this month of Holocaust survivors who have died of COVID. There are so many, and their stories of survival and resilience are breathtaking. Their loss to this virus is just unbelievably tragic.
As we hurtle towards 1M COVID deaths in the U.S., I'm still speechless when I see their faces each morning.
Today
@FacesOfCOVID
, we remember:
Manny Perez, 32, of California
Tarmuni Fitzgerald, 48, of Wisconsin
Mark Beck, 59, of Texas
Marissa Glass-Briet, 49, of Arizona
This photo is a reminder of just how many people are carrying the pain of loss in this pandemic after losing someone at the center of their world.
Multiply this by 550,000.
DAVID JOHNSON, 25, of Somerville, New Jersey died of COVID on Feb. 9, 2021.
"We lost a brother, son, uncle, nephew, friend & confidant. The world lost a brilliant historian & future leader. He was just 25 years old with a lifetime of memories ahead of him. We miss him so much."
Been asked about my reaction to 500,000.
The data points have always been only 1/2 of the story that needs telling. If we didn’t want 500,000 & we don’t want 750,000 we need to see our own families in each of them. Uplift their faces & names & dreams & loved ones who miss them.
I would love to be wrong, but I am increasingly concerned that we'll look back on this sudden and complete shift to "COVID is over" in both policy and public health practices as a dangerous false summit that led to another wave of death and illness.
I’ve been researching, reading, & posting the obituaries of the COVID dead
@FacesOfCOVID
for 6 full months now. I started March 23. Almost 3,000 stories to date & barely 1% of the full toll.
I never thought I’d still be doing this with no end in sight. What a colossal failure.
SALLY FISCHER, 72, of Zimmerman, Minnesota died of COVID on Nov. 14.
"They are not just numbers on charts of people who were going to die anyway. They are our grandparents, parents, siblings, children...This is a picture of my mothers last visit with me."
Shared by her son.
Fully understand the wall to wall presidential coverage right now (even though very little new information coming in except for little bursts of new votes) -- but holy shit folks 103,000 NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES OF COVID-19 IN THE US TODAY.
ROLANDO BUAN, 78, of Middleton, Wisconsin, died of COVID on March 8, 2021.
"My dad helped so many people during his lifetime. He was a gifted surgeon who was available to patients as the only surgeon in our Midwest town 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 12 months per year."
The
@FacesOfCOVID
twitter has 81,000 followers and in seven months I’ve only blocked one person for abuse/harassment.
The
@FacesOfCOVID
Facebook page has been around less than a month, has 1,000 followers, & I am banning at least 5 people a day for abusive/offensive comments.
1,546 people died of COVID in the US on Christmas Day, 2020. In their memory,
@FacesOfCOVID
will share 10 of their stories, beginning at 9am ET, as we think of those families who are grieving today.
A thread🧵of today's stories
@FacesOfCOVID
. May their memories be a blessing.
The combination of completely unmitigated COVID spread in the U.S. and a massive pullback in the frequency of data sharing on COVID deaths and hospitalizations by public health agencies is pretty jaw dropping given we have no clue what the next variant will do to us.
Among the stories posting today, May 8th,
@FacesOfCOVID
:
A truck driver from Ohio.
An employee of the tribal government of the Ho-Chunk Nation in Wisconsin.
A nurse from Rhode Island.
A pharmacy tech from California.
“Her house always smelled of coffee and toast. And her door was always open, whether it be to her son needing a healing hand, her daughter needing a little help, one of her grandkids needing to recover from a stumble in life, or a friend needing a leg up.”
ROSA NORCONK of Michigan died on Dec. 22, 2020.
"Instead of crying..we've been laughing until tears stain our cheeks cracking up sharing her funny stories. She loved without measure, her heart seemingly growing bigger & bigger to accommodate us all.
“She was very inquisitive and smart with just the right amount of sass. She loved her mother very much. The pair did everything together, including attending over a hundred Bruins games since her birth…”
For the first time since starting
@FacesOfCOVID
, I am consistently seeing "complications from long COVID" in obituaries. Anecdotal for sure, but noteworthy and terribly sad.
FATIMA SHAH HUSSAIN, 29, of Troy, New York, died of complications from long COVID on Nov. 22, 2022.
"Her life stood as a testament to the path of personal healing. She wrote from the heart, speaking truth to power in the most accessible way."
Posting today
@FacesOfCOVID
:
Amanda, a 36 year old math teacher in Kentucky.
Chris, a 34 year old high school football coach in Kansas.
Cherie, a 40 year old 7th grade reading teacher in Illinois.
All had an impact in their communities. All deeply loved. All unvaccinated.
“I died due to complications from COVID-19, which none of us knew existed one and a half years ago (2019). I, along with others like me, are termed ‘long haulers.’”
LEIAH DANIELLE JONES, 33, of Charlotte, North Carolina, died of COVID on March 12, 2021.
"If in this life we met, I hoped our encounter left you with a lasting snapshot of a determined, sometimes complex, genuine friend. One you could talk to."
Among the stories posting today, May 9th,
@FacesOfCOVID
:
Sarah, an environmentalist from Ohio.
Thyce, a nurse from New York.
Tyler, a real estate broker from Florida.
Beverly, a retired med tech from Wisconsin.
Just scheduled a
@FacesOfCOVID
post for later today of a 22-year-old woman in Georgia who died of COVID-induced heart complications less than three weeks ago.
We are falling backwards.
"Nothing brought him joy quite like going to church, singing songs and hymns loudly for all to hear. His other love includes loving all people, and McDonald's hamburgers."
GRANT STOBBE, 44, of Everett, Washington, died of COVID on Jan. 18, 2021.
"Grant's infectious smile, 'Hey Bud!' greetings and proclamations of 'I love you!' to every living soul he met will be sorely missed."
Among the stories posting today, May 10,
@FacesOfCOVID
:
Darell, a hospital porter from New Jersey.
Maria, an ER nurse from New York.
Virginia, a retired dental hygienist from Pennsylvania.
Michael, a Lowe's employee from Michigan.
CALEB SAINT SURIN, 51, of Brooklyn, New York, died of COVID-19 on April 27.
A paraprofessional at PS 181 in Brooklyn, his expertise and enthusiasm was for mathematics, which wore off on this students.
That a grieving son would feel the need to tell his country that his “mother was not a nobody” will tell you everything you need to know about the callousness of the Trump Administration’s response to the carnage of this pandemic.
RUTH BOLTZ of Dunkirk, Indiana, died of COVID-19 on Sept. 30.
"My mother was not a nobody. She was a survivor...Never a cross word, she was a giver who always thought of others before she thought of herself."
Submitted to
@FacesOfCOVID
by her son.