March 11, 2023 – On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global health emergency: a worldwide pandemic.
Over the past three years, people all over the world have imposed lockdowns, modified their work routines, worn masks, and gotten vaccinated. Today, COVID remains to be circulating, however it not dominates our lives prefer it once did.
Here is a snapshot of our situation on the third anniversary of the COVID pandemic:
Cases and deaths: Worldwide, the pandemic has infected about 759 million people and resulted in 6.8 million COVID-related deaths, in keeping with Johns Hopkins University. COVID TrackerThe United States has had about 104 million infections and about 1.1 million COVID-related deaths – greater than some other country.
Since Friday, March 10, there have been a median of about 29,000 latest cases and 393 COVID-related deaths within the United States every day, in keeping with The New York Times. While this remains to be a high figure, it represents a big decline from peak levels: in January 2022, there have been a median of greater than 800,000 cases per day, and in January 2021, a median of about 3,000 people died per day.
Vaccinations: Since the top of 2020, about 81% of the U.S. population has received not less than one dose of vaccine and 69% have accomplished primary vaccination, in keeping with the CDCFor probably the most vulnerable population group, those over 65, the chances are even higher.
Public enthusiasm for vaccination has waned through the years, with only 16% of the U.S. population having received the updated bivalent booster vaccine designed to guard against omicron variants.
COVID count: This is becoming increasingly difficult, partially because so many individuals are testing at home and never reporting positive results to local health authorities. Many health authorities have relaxed their counting of COVID cases since the threat has diminished. The Associated Press reported.
On Friday, Johns Hopkins last updated its COVID tracker. Beth Blauer, the project's data lead, told the Associated Press that Johns Hopkins relies heavily on public data on COVID and “it's just not there.”
Public trust: Resistance to government health measures akin to mandatory mask wearing and mandatory vaccination is considered one of the legacies of the pandemic. Even changing guidelines on mask wearing and the origins of the virus haven’t helped.
Public health has been politicized throughout the pandemic. Knight Family Foundation reported this week that trust in health authorities and the CDC has declined over the course of the pandemic, especially amongst Republicans. Republicans are less more likely to get vaccinated.
Government response: The Biden administration has announced that the 2 national emergency declarations related to the COVID-19 pandemic will end on May 11. This implies that many services, akin to free testing and vaccines, will not be available.
The World Health Organization said in January that the pandemic is probably going at a “transition point,” meaning public health measures may very well be further relaxed. However, the WHO has not yet lifted the pandemic status.