I always mark March 13 as the anniversary of COVID-19 because that date in 2020 was when it started to feel real to me—five years of COVID-19. Of course, the disease started in the fall of 2019, but it seemed remote. Oh, it’s in other countries; it’s in Washington state, on the other side of the country.
In 2023, I noted its third anniversary at some detail, which included getting the first two vaccines in March 2021, and my family’s bout with the disease in August 2022. But I didn’t mention some of the other issues, such as Real Countries fight COVID.
I’m reminded how every visit outside at the time was a negotiation, often with myself. The Spectrum theater in Albany opened in 2021, though people were distanced and masked. I’m pretty sure I went by myself initially. I decided it was still worth going to the movies because -damn! – I’d seen so many plays and movies and meetings online on little screens in 2020. It was making me terribly melancholy. The small screens made my life feel small.
Booster
I received my most recent COVID and influenza shots in August and September 2024. According to the CDC website, which is being “modified to comply with… Executive Orders,” “Everyone ages 6 months and older should get the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine. This includes people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine, people who have had COVID-19, and people with long COVID.” These are some factors for folks to “more likely to get very sick with COVID-19.”
Additionally, in the Weekly US Influenza Surveillance Report: “Seasonal influenza activity remains elevated and continues to increase across the country.”
Every time I get a sore throat, I wonder, “Am I sick? Do I have COVID?” I still have enough unexpired tests, especially with the extended expiration dates, to test periodically.
Am I worried about the CDC, FDA and other medical entities being compromised by… certain parties? Yes, yes, I am.
NYT: How COVID remade America, starting with it turned us into hyperindividualists.
NYT: Covid’s Deadliest Effect Took Five Years to Appear
Gallup: How COVID Changed the Workplace
Truthout: Don’t Forget the History of COVID in Prison—An Interview With Victoria Law. The pandemic exposed the cruelty of prison in new ways. It was a lost opportunity to move away from mass incarceration.
