The Great Financial Cost of Dealing with COVID-19
Research is showing that SoCal residents are dealing with a looming financial crisis when it comes to dealing with COVID-19. Students from California State University Northridge interviewed residents from cities across Southern California.
The pandemic has taken a toll on economies across the country. Stay-in orders and regulations forced businesses to close their doors temporarily, and in some case permanently.
People that have jobs that were designated as essential, like grocery cashiers, have been able to maintain their hours. At the same time, these workers are exposed to the general public at all times. With this exposure comes a risk of infection.
Hollywood is a neighborhood in Los Angeles County with a cluster of lower-income households. The average income is around 34,000$ and has a high percentage of households that make less than 20,000$
These households could be devastated if a working member of the household were to test positive for the virus. LA County Guidelines suggest the individual with a positive test self-quarantines for up to two weeks. Two weeks where that member would not be making money that would be critical for paying bills.
To find out how residents of Hollywood have been affected I want to use community contacts I have to establish a more intimate connection with my respondents. Using things like the Chamber of Commerce, American Legion Post 43, and other contacts I have on social media I plan to ask for phone calls or zoom calls.
Not only would this method establish the possibility of sound bytes, but I can also create a network with feedback loops to allow the project to grow and expand.
I can already get access to a wider network of older respondents. I want to take time to look into local influencers, websites, and forums to find a network of subjects that are within the 19–34 age range. I want to capture this group because they make up a huge chunk of Hollywood’s population.
My goal is to get a set of personal responses that go beyond “I lost money during the pandemic.” I would love to get a series of portraits for each respondent, and figure out how they have or have not changed their financial habits. For example, would a young adult that used to get Starbucks everyday still be doing that? These personal responses will be the paint of my overall project.
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COVID-19 has affected everyone in Southern California, but the financial impact of quarantine is vastly different across different communities.
To start our group has used a variety of different models to gather responses to questions like “Could you afford to quarantine for two weeks following a positive test?” Some of us used Instagram stories to gather information from people in our social circles, while others used Facebook pages to get responses.
My preferred model for creating a project based on our responses would be similar to the New York Times American Dreamers or the Cicero Graduating During Covid models. I believe pairing the quotes with pictures or audio pieces can bring the reader into the story better than print can.
I will continue to focus my community focus on Hollywood, but I will likely compare my areas to the communities my partners chose. There are huge differences between an area like North Hollywood and Westlake. The differences in income are a big factor in how people responded to the questions.
One factor I’m curious to look at is how different ethnic communities approach testing. Looking at the data, I wonder if there is a trend between certain groups being tested more often or if these groups have a certain mindset about testing (i.e. wanting to avoid testing centers and hospitals as much as possible).
A vast majority of our respondents said having to quarantine or treatment after a positive test could place financial stress on paying their bills. A factor we could explore further is what jobs our respondents work to figure out how their insurance plans could help or hurt them down the line.
Questions I would want to ask:
“If you were to test positive right now, could you afford to quarantine for two weeks and still pay your bills?”
“If you needed to get treatment, do you think your insurance would cover the costs? Why or why not?”
“Do you think your local government has given you enough information on COVID-19 and how to stay safe?”
“Do you leave your house for non-essential outings? If so, what makes you feel comfortable doing so?
The format I plan to use is a combination of photos and audio together whenever possible.
<Below Is A Print Draft of the Proposal Pre-Oct 1st Updated>
Research is showing that SoCal residents are dealing with a looming financial crisis when it comes to dealing with COVID-19. Students from California State University Northridge interviewed residents from cities across Southern California.
Many respondents were asked if they could afford self-isolating after a positive COVID-19 test. There were a variety of responses about how people would react and what they would do first. What we found is that most could isolate in the moment, but it would have lingering financial consequences down the line for lower income households.
Thirty-five year old Yana Lanis says, “I’ve been taking social distancing very seriously so hopefully I will continue on this path. Because like I said I do not have the best insurance policy and covering bills in the event that I were sick would be very difficult in my one-income household.”
For residents like Yana, a positive test would make it incredibly stressful to pay bills like rent, DWP statements and other monthly costs.
A positive test can also have consequences in dwellings with multiple families, such as a shared apartment or duplex. Joel Spirlin, 32, believes he could do it with some work. “As for isolating it can be tough since my boyfriend and I share a 2 bedroom apartment with another couple. So wort case scenario he would have to sleep on the living room and I would keep the room.”
LA County Guidelines suggest that all members that have close contact should also quarantine if one person in the household tests positive. In Joel’s case, that would mean his boyfriend should also isolate and keep away from the other couple in their apartment. If both of them work, then they would both be losing income for two weeks unless their work could compensate them.
Many Los Angeles County residents rely on their health insurance to cover medical costs, and being hospitalized for COVID-19 is no small expense. The LA Times found that popular treatment for COVID-19 in the US is a drug called Remdesivir produced by Gilead. The price for a five-day treatment plan? Over 2,000 dollars.
Many of the young adults interviewed make rent in ranges of 450 dollars to 900 dollars working customer service jobs. Without insurance from work, many would not be able to afford such an expensive treatment on their own. The ones that could generally afford quarantining or treatment plans rely on their families to pay for expenses.
COVID-19 doesn’t only cause financial strain for young adults. Mac Vec, 30, from Burbank was working in the film industry when the pandemic started. With production companies and unions halting all activities, Vec suddenly found himself out-of-work. With a looming lease deadline at the beginning of October, he decided to turn his van into a moving studio.
(Vec van post would fit nicely here, waiting on Marian for the photo)
