COVID-19: 3 Years Later, Has the Virus Won?

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It’s been 3 years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and almost 7 million people have lost their lives. However, many of us are back to our regular lives due to different forms of immunity made from either getting sick or by receiving vaccines. It seems that this virus is here to stay and can possibly cause even more harm.

Thomas Friedrich from the University of Wisconsin-Madison said that new COVID variants in any part of the world can affect us all and it’s important to really understand that we are connected.

It has become more difficult lately to keep track of the pandemic because some sources have stopped giving information about it. Johns Hopkins University even closed down their tracker website which was originally made when the virus first came out in China and started spreading worldwide.

Saturday is the three year anniversary of the pandemic being declared by the World Health Organization. However, the United Nations says that it’s not over yet. Basically, this means we still need to take all the necessary steps to protect against coronavirus infections even as we reach this anniversary.

Fear of COVID-19 Still Prevalent Despite Quick Spread & Shorter Lasting Symptoms

COVID-19 is still causing a lot of harm in the world even though it can spread from person to person very quickly through droplets in the air. Some people have died because of it, but most recover quickly and without any long-lasting issue. According Dr. Eric Topol, who works at Scripps Research Translational Institute, the virus is still trying to find other ways to be successful.

We’ve gotten used to how many people are dying every day, but it’s still too high. Even though in America hospitalizations and deaths are now lower than they were during the worst times, they still haven’t dropped down to what they were like during summer 2021, before the delta variant arrived.

The virus could become more dangerous at any time, and unfortunately, we aren’t prepared for it. People don’t trust official health organizations anymore, and there’s even been some opposition against staying home and getting vaccinated. Dr. Topol wishes that people would be together in the fight against the virus instead of fighting each other.

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Humans discovered the virus’ code and quickly made vaccines that work really well. We also created special models to predict what could happen. And we keep checking in water sources for signs of this virus to track any changes it’s making.

Friedrich said, “This pandemic has caused some incredible science!”

We could now go back to life as normal, because of all the successes in our fight against COVID-19. This means that people don’t need to be scared or worried about COVID-19 anymore, according to Natalie Dean from Emory University. She said that this is a huge victory for everyone!

Dr. Stuart Campbell Ray from Johns Hopkins University said that the current coronavirus is 1% different from its original version and has 100 genetic changes. This makes the virus more contagious, but it’s getting better because lots of people already have immunity from it.

Matthew Binnicker from Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota said that compared to three years ago, today we have a much better situation – because now our bodies have gotten used to the virus and can fight it more easily.

At the start of the pandemic we had to take a lot of safety measures like closing businesses and schools, holding off weddings and funerals. We had to wear masks and keep our distance from other people. Nowadays it’s very rare that we need these kinds of precautions.

Dr. Ray said that because so many people have been infected, immunity should protect us from catching something severe again. This means we won’t go back to how things were before the pandemic started.

Tracking Coronavirus Numbers Becomes Increasingly Difficult for US Government

On Friday, Johns Hopkins ended their tracking of coronavirus numbers with 6.8 million deaths worldwide. But unfortunately, the U.S. government sources that provided them with real-time information have now dramatically decreased so that only New York, Arkansas, and Puerto Rico still provide regular daily updates.

Beth Blauer from the project said sadly: “We used to be able to depend on these public data sources for our information, but it’s just not there anymore.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still collecting information related to the coronavirus such as cases, hospitalizations, deaths and virus strains from states, hospitals and testing labs. However, now they have less data and it’s taking longer for them to get this info. According to CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, people are not getting the same data that was available before.

The World Health Organization (WHO) tracks the spread of COVID-19 by looking at what each country reports. However, health experts are worried that the numbers they get don’t show how bad the disease really is, meaning that they do not have an accurate picture of the outbreak.

The CDC has stopped focusing on new cases of the virus and test results since last year. Hospitals are still sending in daily reports, but that may change. Also, information about deaths is coming from death certificates which can take some days or weeks to be reported properly.

The US Government is trying hard to keep track of the pandemic just like how CDC follows the flu season.

Tracy Forrester

Kelly Forrester, a 52-year-old from Shakopee, Minnesota said that she wishes life could go back to normal before COVID. Unfortunately, she lost her father due to the virus in May 2020 and after surviving herself in December 2020, she blamed false information for destroying her longtime friendship.

The virus seems uncontrollable to her; you never know who will have it lightly or more severely. Some may be able to fight through it but some may not be so lucky and end up dying in hospitals because of it.

Forrester’s dad, Virgil Michlitsch, was 80 years old and had been retired for a while. He worked as a meat packer, deliveryman and custodian at an elementary school. Sadly, he passed away in a nursing home with his wife, daughters, and granddaughters all sitting outside the building on lawn chairs saying their goodbyes. Forrester said it was very heartbreaking not to be able to say goodbye in person. This tragic experience even inspired her 24-year-old daughter to get her master’s degree in public health because of all the losses that have occurred since the pandemic started.

Forrester said their dad would have been really proud that his daughter wanted to make things better for people. Two other writers, Laura Ungar and Mike Stobbe, also contributed to the story. The Associated Press Health and Science Department got help from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. Lastly, the Associated press was responsible for all of the content in this article.