“The pandemic is over,” President Joe Biden said Sunday on “60 Minutes.”
No, Mr. President, the pandemic is not over.
“Is COVID-19 winding down? Scientists say no,” The Associated Press declared in a Sept. 6 headline.
The story described how health officials no longer recommend social distancing or quarantine requirements and how most people have abandoned the practice of wearing face masks while indoors in public. Treatments have improved, and COVID-19 no longer threatens to cut short the lives of most of its victims.
Yet, COVID-19 remains an active danger to public health and safety. More than 2 million new cases were reported in the United States during the past 28 days, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.
The disease killed an additional 12,652 Americans in the past month, raising the nationwide death toll to 1,053,862. More than 95.7 million cases have been tracked since early 2020.
Vaccinations remain the best weapon to fight the disease. Health departments in Cook and Will counties this month began administering new booster shots designed to prevent another surge of more dangerous variants of COVID-19.
For many, it is time to get a third booster dose to go along with one or two shots initially administered in 2021. The Will County Health Department requires appointments to receive the latest vaccine.
“Walk-in appointments are not available,” according to the department’s website.
One obstacle that might discourage some from getting the latest vaccine dose is finding their COVID-19 vaccination record card. Despite my best efforts to keep the 3-by-4 inch piece of paper in a safe place, I had trouble locating my card Tuesday.
“You must bring your COVID-19 vaccination record card to your vaccination appointment,” according to the Will County Health Department. “If you lost your vaccination record, you must request a new card prior to arriving for a vaccination appointment.”
Health departments can help patients replace lost vaccination record cards or obtain an electronic record of their vaccinations with a QR Code. Also, the Will County Health Department offers information about obtaining vaccines at numerous retail locations throughout the county, including Walgreens, Jewel-Osco, Meijer and Mariano’s.
I was among those eager to put the pandemic in the rearview mirror. For me, that meant not having to think any more about COVID-19. I resumed meeting friends at bars and restaurants or shopping in grocery stores without thinking about a mask.
I felt annoyed when I needed to wear a mask to enter a medical facility for a routine checkup or to cover a story.
“I thought we were done with these,” I said to myself.
This felt like more than allowing myself to be distracted by entertainment or other pursuits. Rather, it feels as if I have deliberately avoided thinking about the pandemic for many months. The president’s remark shook me back to reality.
One challenge of the pandemic is how it deprives people from collectively celebrating survival. There will be no day like May 8, 1945, when Allies celebrated Victory in Europe Day marking Germany’s unconditional surrender in World War II.
Because the pandemic will linger and likely evolve into an endemic, there may never be a cause for mass public celebration, just solemn observances. Instead, individuals are left to their own devices to quietly rejoice in living another day.
I checked the vaccination dates on my record card. My initial doses were in March and April 2021. I received booster shots in October and March. I have never tested positive for COVID-19 or felt seriously ill since the pandemic began.
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Last week, I experienced fever, chills and other flu-like symptoms. The worst of the symptoms diminished after 24 hours but I felt sore for another couple days. It was the first time I physically felt less than 100% since early 2020.
The illness reminded me I have been fortunate to be in good physical health for the most part. I know many people who lost loved ones to COVID-19. I know several people who have publicly shared how they cope with fatigue, shortness of breath and other symptoms associated with long-term COVID-19.
It feels as if life will not get any easier as the pandemic progresses. Data track the grim toll of the physical losses, but less information is available about the pandemic’s effect on our collective mental health.
Experts say the pandemic has caused increases in the numbers of people seeking treatment for anxiety, depression and other conditions. Public relations agencies pitch stories to media about the availability of counselors, authors and others to talk about the pandemic’s strain on marriages and relationships.
If you’re feeling stressed, you’re not alone.
“The impact on the psyche of the American people as a consequence of the pandemic is profound,” Biden said on “60 Minutes.” “Think of how that has changed everything.”
I continue to feel tired and numb, as I wrote in March 2021, about a year into the pandemic. Another 18 months has passed, and the pandemic still demands our attention.
I called the Will County Health Department Tuesday to schedule an appointment to receive a third booster dose. The earliest available time was in the middle of next week.
Ted Slowik is a columnist at the Daily Southtown.