SSN Commentary

The Unremarkable, Unceremonious End of This Pandemic Should Frighten Us

Policy field

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The University of Texas at Dallas

Originally published as "The Unremarkable, Unceremonious End of This Pandemic Should Frighten Us," Salon, March 27, 2022.

 

Nearly two years ago to the day, our doctor called urging that I be induced immediately because a sudden nationwide lockdown was to be announced in a matter of days. I nervously ran a hand over my nine-months-pregnant belly as he talked. "If you want your husband in the delivery room, you need to be admitted tomorrow. They are halting delivery room visitations," he issued. It was all happening too fast.

Now, after 460 million COVID-19 cases and 6 million fatalities worldwide, we are quietly transitioning to living with a virus that upended so many lives. Yet this transition from pandemic to endemic is unpunctuated. Seemingly we have little to celebrate.