Saskatoon researchers want to 'understand the legacy of COVID-19'

A sign near the intersection of 8th Street East and Broadway Avenue.

A University of Saskatchewan project is collecting residents’ COVID-19 experiences to help prepare for future pandemics.

Erika Dyck has been leading a team making a digital archive of stories and materials.

“At its core, we want to understand the legacy of COVID-19 for Saskatchewan people because we will be confronting its effects for years to come,” Dyck said.

She added it was crucial to get public submissions as the pandemic passes as people become more reluctant to talk about it and want to move on.

Submissions from the public like videos, e-mails, blogs, photos, and other materials can be uploaded online: https://covid19archive.usask.ca/

In particular, researchers would like to hear from vaccine scientists, ICU physicians, foodbank employees, Prairie Harm Reduction and marginalized people.

These stories will be combined with other digital materials such as media releases and social media posts, which are being gathered by digital historian Jim Clifford.

Another aspect of the project will see students interviewing Saskatchewan residents including nurses, teachers, business owners, and more. The goal is to uncover how COVID-19 changed our culture, according to Dyck.

The data collected will assist future researchers in looking at a critical point in the province’s history. It can also be valuable to help Saskatchewan prepare for future pandemics, Dyck said.

Saskatchewan’s COVID-19 experience is important according to Dyck because it ended up with some of Canada’s highest infection rates and had to send some patients to Ontario for intensive care.

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada has awarded the project a $200,000 grant for the next two years.