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Is the COVID-19 Pandemic Over Or Are We Just Letting This Be Our New Normal?
Navigating the Post-COVID Era: The War On Coronavirus is Over, But Battles Rage On Globally
In the middle of May 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States declared the end of COVID-19’s public health emergency. After a wide swath of folks from the United States received vaccinations and/or gained protection after previous infections, the acute number of hospital admissions declined, leading to a less stressed healthcare system. That factor, combined with an improved understanding of the disease and better treatment, has led to a better survival chance than it used to have.
With an overall decline in urgency, it has become much more difficult to find updated information on COVID cases being discussed (which isn’t unfair, there are wars and a whole other host of pressing issues that have rightfully grabbed our attention). But the shelf life of pandemics is far more lengthy than our collective attention spans. And, with breaking news that the BA.2.86 variant has been picking up traction over the last couple of weeks and experts predicting that we will soon see another spike, it’s still important to keep the disease on our radar.
