Flags at Half-Staff in Massachusetts
Title
Catalog Entry
This artifact shows not only the American flag being flown at half-staff but also the Massachusetts state flag being flown at the half-staff as well.This photo was taken on February 25, 2021 in Westfield, Massachusetts. Another aspect of the photo that you can see is the heart carved in the snow. The heart and the flags being flown at half-staff really shows the respect for this tragic event.
In the past year, there have been 500,000 deaths of Americans due to the global crisis everyone has undergone. Joe Biden, the 46th President said that “500,000 Americans have now died from the virus. That is more Americans who have died in a single year of this pandemic than in World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War combined.” (Biden) By sitting back and really comprehending all of the deaths due to COVID, something had to be done to honor everyone who has not only passed away from the virus but also people who were infected as well.
The coronavirus appeared in the United States in the beginning of 2020. On February 22, 2021, the number of deaths in the United States exceeded 500,000 due to only one COVID-19 cause. Nick Tate, an author of an article published on WebMD stated that
“The novel coronavirus is now the third leading cause of death in the U.S. -- behind heart disease and cancer.” (Tate) Also, in the article, a doctor named Amesh Adalj, said the numbers of death shouldn't be this high and that it could have been preventable. You may ask, how could the death toll be lower with this extremely contagious disease?Well, in the beginning months of the pandemic the United States should have mandated a stricter nationwide quarantine, also known as a lockdown. You can compare other countries who had stricter rules and see the difference in the death toll. For example, Brazil has had 246,504, Mexico at 180,107, India has had 156,385 and the United Kingdom at 120,81 deaths in just a year. Brazil is the second highest country with deaths and the United States has more than double the amount in the period of time.
There has been much controversy when it comes to the death toll for COVID. Many think that people who have died from COVID though testing positive, there could be an underlying condition to have caused death. An example from an article published by AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) is about a man that had cancer, “The man had contracted COVID-19 and was struggling to breathe, recalls Sara Auld, MD, a critical care physician at the hospital. He was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and intubated. “Given his already fragile state, his condition quickly took a turn for the worse” and he died, she recalls.” (Boyle) So covid was his reasoning for death, but could it have been cancer? In the beginning of the pandemic even if a person had an underlying condition if they were infected and died with covid, it counted as a covid death. “Federal and state governments gradually altered such policies over the spring and summer to say that in order for a death to be counted as a COVID-19 death, the disease had to have played a role.” (Boyle) The CDC then counts the deaths due to COVID, which is found on a death certificate as well as other underlying disease, andkeeps a running toll of deaths due to the cause of COVID.
It is a tragedy to have so many deaths, but things are slowly getting better. More so in a way that people who are now getting infected health care professionals know a lot more than what they did in the beginning of 2020. Although after a year of the pandemic, there are still thousands of people getting infected, there has also been a great improvement. Now, people are more knowledgeable about COVID, but a vaccine was created. The first dose was given in December of 2020.
While going through a presidential election in the midst of a pandemic, Joe Biden got elected as the president of the United States and set many goals, which made Americans hopeful for the future. One of Biden's goals was having 100 million people vaccinated in his first 100 days in office. He was able to surpass that goal and is now hopeful that 200 million people will be vaccinated within his first 100 days. Biden has handled this pandemic very seriously. So in February of 2021 he knew he had to do something to honor all of the lives that were lost due to COVID. To do so he ordered all the flags to be flown at half-staff.
What is the meaning of a flag being flown at half-staff? The meaning behind it is that when the flag is being flown at half-staff it is a symbol that the country is mourning. Not only that but also remembrance and respect of the people of the United States. Having half a million deaths in a year is something that has never happened to America before. As stated above, there weren't this many deaths that happened in World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War combined. Biden knew he needed to acknowledge this tragic milestone, so the flag being flown at half-staff is a respectful symbol to show the country that we remember and care about all of the deaths that have occured.
Bibliography
Boyle, Patrick. “How Are COVID-19 Deaths Counted? It's Complicated.” AAMC, AAMC, 18 Feb. 2021,
www.aamc.org/news-insights/how-are-covid-19-deaths-counted-it-s-complicated
“Flags at Half-Staff in Massachusetts through Friday.” WWLP, WWLP, 25 Feb. 2021,
www.wwlp.com/news/massachusetts/flags-at-half-staff-in-massachusetts-thr ough-friday/
Tate, Nick. “500,000 Americans Now Dead from COVID-19.” WebMD Health News, WebMD, 22 Feb. 2021,
www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210222/500000-americans-now-dead-from-covid-19