Photo Courtesy of Tiana Arroyo
Discovered in Wuhan, China, COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus, entered into the U.S. in January of 2020. After this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) forewarned the nations of this breakout.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is among the deadliest infectious diseases to have emerged in recent history. As with all past pandemics, the specific mechanism of its emergence in humans remains unknown,” the National Library of Medicine said. Essentially, estimates propose the total number of global deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 is at least three million. As of December 8, 2023, the total number of deaths due to Covid is 6,948,566 according to the worldometer. “The virus that causes COVID-19 is not the most deadly. Ebola kills upwards of 50% of people it infects. The coronaviruses that cause Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) result in death in about 10% of infections and between 30% to 40% of cases, respectively,” UCI Health said. Covid has affected the public’s mental health and well-being in many ways. These ways include isolation and loneliness, job loss and financial instability, and illness and grief.
“Concerns about mental health and substance use remain elevated three years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 90% of U.S. adults believing that the country is facing a mental health crisis, according to a recent KFF/CNN survey,” KFF said. As of May 11, 2023, COVID-19 is no longer a public health emergency. A public health emergency is looked at as “an occurrence or imminent threat of an illness or health condition, caused by bioterrorism, epidemic or pandemic disease, or an infectious agent or biological toxin that poses a substantial risk to humans by either causing a significant number of human fatalities or permanent or long-term disability,” according to Mass.gov. “The federal COVID-19 PHE declaration ended on May 11, 2023. Most tools, like vaccines, treatments, and testing, will remain available,” the CDC said. Covid can be prevented by doing the same things you would do to prevent the cold or the flu. With the simple steps of washing your hands and keeping distance from those who are sick, you can lower your risk of getting sick. “Discuss potential vaccines (such as the flu vaccine) with your healthcare provider, wash your hands frequently, cover coughs and sneezes with tissue, avoid close contact with people who are sick, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth, and if you are sick, avoid others and stay home from work,” Mass.gov said. All in all, Covid was and still is a life-threatening health concern that has affected 6,948,566 people from around the world.
“The risk of similar coronavirus outbreaks in the future remains high. In addition to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, we must undertake vigorous scientific, public health, and societal actions, including significantly increased funding for basic and applied research addressing disease emergence, to prevent this tragic history from repeating itself,” NIH said.
