Back in the beginning of October, President Donald Trump tested positive for the virus COVID-19, potentially resulting from some large gatherings at the White House. The situation was serious for a time, but he has since recovered.

“It’s a terrible thing when not even the President of the United States is safe from a disease,” said Viktor Sakman (12), a student at Brookfield East High School. However, he says, it was not entirely unexpected given his actions. “This was bound to happen, given that he chooses not to wear a mask and doesn’t social distance and holds rallies with thousands of people who don’t wear masks and are all huddled together,” Sakman states.

He was luckily only sick for a few days and was treated in that time with a mix of steroids and vitamins. “I knew […] as the president of the United States, he was going to be entitled to the best doctors in this country, so I expected him to recover, and I wasn’t very worried about him dying in the middle of a pandemic.”

Sakman adds that the big picture is more important than just one person. “Since [Trump] has seemingly survived this disease […] I’m more concerned about his response to COVID in general,” adding the sobering reminder that, as of the time of writing, “hundreds of thousands of people [have] died already in this country alone.”

Of course, we can’t just focus on all of the bad that has happened. We need to think about the future, and In order to move forward in this presidency and the next, Sakman proposes a simple course of action. “We need to stop demonizing our scientists.”

“Trump should have been listening to [scientists] more than intentionally disagreeing with them…I guess that if he had just listened and taken action, based on the input of public health experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci and others like him, we would be in a better place.”

Sakman doesn’t try to take any credit. “It’s not even my opinion, just the opinion of scientists. I am just someone who listens to them.” And regarding more immediate changes, “It’s more or less the same how teachers and students alike are dealing with this pandemic,” he advises.

He also commends his classmates and teachers for their following of safety procedures, noting that, “Now everyone wears a mask and does social distancing, at least in my school.”

Given recent events such as a COVID-19 vaccine being approved in the US and elsewhere, a light in the tunnel seems to emerge. However, it is vital that we make it down the home stretch and continue to follow protocols such as distancing, mask-wearing, and washing hands so that everything can go back to normal as soon as possible.