“WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock, and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction,” said WHO’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on that date. “We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.” At that point, the United States had recorded just over 1,000 infections, but Anthony Fauci, MD, now the chief medical adviser to President Biden, accurately warned, “It’s going to get worse.” Flash forward two years, and Dr. Fauci’s prediction came true. Since the first known patient with the coronavirus was identified in China in December of 2019, the world has now recorded more than 452 million cases and more than 6 million deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The disease upended life as we knew it, leading to lockdowns, social distancing, mask-wearing, and soaring unemployment.
Majority of Americans Feel Their Lives Have Been Forever Changed
Because of the prolonged pandemic, nearly two-thirds of Americans say their life has been forever changed, according to a new survey from the American Psychological Association. They indicate that it makes them sad to think about the things they have missed out on because of COVID-19 and that they feel the pandemic has stolen major life moments they will never get back. Two-thirds of respondents say that with each new variant, they lose hope that the COVID-19 pandemic will ever end.
Glimmers of Hope and Recovery
On the positive side, scientists have made great strides in the battle against the virus. In record time, the United States developed vaccines that have proved to be highly effective at preventing severe illness and hospitalization. In 2020, less than one year into the pandemic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency authorization for the Pfizer vaccine on December 11, followed by the Moderna vaccine on December 18 and the Johnson & Johnson single shot on February 27, 2021. By fall 2021, nearly two out of every five people in the world had been vaccinated, and currently almost two-thirds of all Americans are fully vaccinated — COVID-19 inoculations are now available for all Americans ages 5 and up. While most people who contract the coronavirus have relatively mild symptoms and are able to recover at home, many get sick to the point where the disease is life-threatening.
New Treatments Against an Insidious Foe
FDA-authorized monoclonal antibody treatments have been shown to mount a successful defense against the virus. GlaxoSmithKline’s sotrovimab and Eli Lilly’s bebtelovimab both appear to protect against the omicron variant, and bebtelovimab has been proved effective against the new omicron subvariant BA.2. Along the way, virus has been an insidious foe, with mutated strains that have spread more quickly and caused more severe disease. The delta wave took hold in the spring of 2021 and finally dissipated in the fall. But before people had a moment’s relief, the first case of omicron was identified in the United States on November 22, 2021, and again infections skyrocketed. Now omicron numbers are dropping dramatically.
National Preparedness Plan Unveiled
With cases declining and more methods to fight the virus, the White House unveiled its new National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan at the beginning of March. “Because of the significant progress we’ve made as a country, the determination and resilience of the American people, and the work we’ve done to make tools to protect ourselves widely available, we are moving forward safely, [and] getting back to our more normal routines,” said the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, Jeffrey Zients, in a press briefing. “Under the latest CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] recommendations, most Americans in most of the country can now be mask free.” The Biden administration recognizes that the coronavirus is a tricky adversary, and that stronger mutations that resist current vaccinations may appear. “We know that we will have to contend with COVID at some level for some time to come,” said Fauci. “Thus, we will continue to invest in research to develop better treatments and next-generation vaccines, ones that could provide even broader and longer-lasting protection.” In reflecting on the mood of the nation, President Biden in his State of the Union address said, “I know you’re tired, frustrated, and exhausted. But I also know this: Because of the progress we’ve made, because of your resilience and the tools we have, tonight I can say we are moving forward safely, back to more normal routines.” Jennifer Horney, PhD, a professor of epidemiology and a core faculty member at the disaster research center at the University of Delaware in Newark, hopes that our country has learned from the crisis. “We are so eager to return to normal, but more consideration should be given to addressing gaps created by the COVID-19 response and preparing for the next threat, which, given our globally connected world, could be literally right around the corner,” says Dr. Horney.
