Table 2.

Examples of interview excerpts by themes and group.

Theme	Category	Quotation
Theme 1: Lived Experiences during the COVID-19 Pandemic	Essential Worker	“So I have a [great] friend, he didn't understand why you know in the job where he worked. They didn't have any form of social distancing in place, and he contracted the virus. And as I was talking to him he was telling me I don't have any taste. I can't smell it. I just feel so drained. And he had to isolate himself. I got to see a picturesque idea of what actually covid actually looked like.”
	Parent	“It's been difficult, I actually lost two aunts. And the worst part about it was not being able to grieve as a family and collective home. And we're still not to the point where we even had an opportunity to come together and celebrate life. … It's difficult because you know that it's happened when you originally or initially hear about it. It's devastating. But then you get to go into this fantasy world or this island of denial. You know, it makes it easier to not accept …”
	Young Adult	“Yeah, it's really hard for everybody to be at home. It's just the routine changed the impact on my family. So there are four people in my household … I have an 11-year-old and a seven year old. So it's like they're old enough to kind of do their own thing for a while. But coming back together you know we had to find new ways to live and exist even together … you know, building tolerance levels, having more patience.”
	Individuals with Underlying Medical Conditions	“So for me It really freaked me out in the sense that knowing especially my father had it, that I might not see him again … I tried to get it to him and I asked, his wife to make sure that he takes it. I talked to him daily to force him to try to eat because he would not eat. I was really worried and nervous that I was going to get a call, stating that you know he was on a ventilator or that he died or something like that.”
Theme 2: Challenges experienced during the COVID-19 Pandemic	Essential Worker	“It's become more challenging to say the least, because in our field, people still demand and depend on electricity. … we still have to abide by our safety policies. Now, we have to take on the Covid-19 policies so you take a lineman who's working outside you know in hundred degree weather who already have long sleeves and you tell him to wear a mask while he's working outside. You know you're putting them in a greater risk where they can dehydrate pass out, have heat exhaustion or a heat stroke. It's been tough from a professional standpoint.”
	Parent	“It's an expensive virus when one gets it. It's an expensive virus to prepare for or to try to prepare for. Your thing's shut completely down if the food supply for any reason is cut or the window closes where you can't get groceries when you want them or need them … And then when you throw in, you know, all the black men been getting killed on TV, when you throw in those murders and what not, coupled with this invisible killer, you got the killer. We do see the police, then you've got the killer. We don't see this virus. So it's been like, is this real is this really real?”
	Young Adult	“So we went to a spring break, and then we're supposed to come back from spring break is when the university announced that we were going online. As well. Okay, cool. Like, I don't have to go inside, you know, have to drive across the city, but it's definitely proven to be a challenge. I think that my actual department has tried their best to be Mindful of that and like how students learn and I think that the university has tried to keep us up to date, but I think they were just lagging. There is still a lot of uncertainty.”
	Individuals with Underlying Medical Conditions	“I've always been a more outside person. I love to travel … And so actually I've been mostly, like 90%, in my house since March 10. And that's very unlike what I do, or normally do, I tend to like to go out, and take my kids out to different places. But because I'm a lot more at risk, I just kind of was basically shut in. And that took a toll or is constantly taking a toll on you know, my mental health.”
Theme 3: I would do this differently they say ….	Essential Worker	“I will most definitely stock up on cleaning products. Most definitely. And cleaning products. I would say I would save more. And I've always been a saver.”
	Parent	“You know, people have those emergency kits in case of bad weather and things of that nature? I would definitely keep an emergency kit with cleaning supplies I will definitely keep stashes of cleaning supplies, stashes of masks and gloves, stashes of non-perishable foods, things of that nature. I was never one of those, you know, end of the world bunker mentality people but it kind of makes sense now.”
	Young Adult	“Keep the steps I've already taken while adding in growing and investing in stocks, crypto, whatever it is to make you a crap ton of money and put it away for saving. So if something like this happens again, financially you will not be burdened.”
	Individuals with Underlying Medical Conditions	“Probably stocked up more on food supplies, you know, had one known and cleaning supplies had, you know, had one known. The necessary gear like the gloves, and the sanitizers, and the facemasks, making sure we're properly prepared for that as well.”
Theme 4: Changes Needed to Survive the Pandemic relate to Public Policy, Community/institutional factors, and Interpersonal processes and primary group(s)	Essential Worker	“Yeah, I think government they just need to be honest. I just feel like everybody's campaigning for something and it has nothing to do just solely with the coronavirus but its just to get the next person in office. So we'll say whenever we can. We've lost so many people to the coronavirus, and it's just so sad. Like, where's the compassion. Like think about that and then just be totally honest, transparent, what's really happening so that we can deal with this as a whole society. And as far as schools like teachers and Gosh so many people just don't necessarily want to be at work, but have to be a work and they put their lives on line and health care workers too.”
	Parent	“They might be handling it better than some other places but nowhere near as well as you would hope the National Institutes of Health would handle it. But the good thing they did was they installed hand sanitizer dispensers. I mean, they're all over the building like everywhere all so that's probably the best thing that they did. And I say, handing out masks. When you come in. Those are the two measures that they really took but they could have done much better.”
	Young Adult	“State officials and stuff, sit (expletive) down and stop putting everything into the media right away until you truly know every single last piece of information to the state officials again stop instilling fear into people. There's a way to deliver something to get people to understand without putting fear in them.”
	Individuals with Underlying Medical Conditions	“. I kind of feel like You know, there needs to be a bigger stance on requiring people to do what is necessary to come back the virus, New York. They did a great job in And making sure that the virus was contained and you know getting everything under control. But then, Georgia. Instead of following suit what New York was doing, they decided to do their own thing and allowed you know for the virus to get worse here in Georgia. So I just kind of wished it they would make more of a mandate nationwide to combat the whole thing.”