5 Things That Shocked Me Most as a COVID-19 Contact Tracer
Here’s a link to my latest post on Medium.com:
https://christinewolf.medium.com/the-5-most-shocking-things-i-experienced-a-covid-19-contact-tracer-367e978f9459?sk=006a3b4339b269c4d4eccdd42ad28979
Excerpt: In September of 2020, six months into the pandemic, my newly-launched writing co-op was still closed to clients, and my head hurt trying to comprehend the flood of mixed messaging about COVID-19.
And so, I signed up for a month-long contact tracing class at a local community college. The 30-hour course, offered through a program approved for funding by the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA), cost me $279. I figured I’d gain some insight into the science of the outbreak, not to mention some much-needed connection, albeit electronic, to other human beings. If nothing else, I figured, I’d write about what I learned and share it with others.
When I finished the course in October, it was clear that our lives wouldn’t return to normal for a very long time. And so, I started exploring part-time jobs for contact tracers. Rather than feel miserable and trapped and disconnected at home, I decided I might as well try to be part of any efforts to dig us out.
In early November, while working on my own writing projects, I inquired about a rather vaguely-described position as a contact tracer. After several emails and phone calls, I was offered a full-time position as a contact tracer. I’d be working from home. I’d be a part of a team. I told myself this would probably last for a month.
Someone recently asked, “How much do contact tracers make?” I don’t know how much everyone else makes, but I was paid $21/hour.
I started on November 30th, 2020, and worked for 16 weeks. I had no idea I was about to step into the most uniquely stressful, intense and overwhelming job I’ve ever had.
The 5 most shocking things I experienced as a COVID-19 contact tracer were:
Gaining early access to the COVID-19 vaccine
Witnessing so much disbelief in — and denial of — science
Feeling the magnitude of death and despair
Addressing constant concerns from reasonable doubters
Navigating nearly incomprehensible emotional demands
Allow me to explain.
