Three Years Later

Three years is an arbitrary marker, for sure, but it seems important to note just how long COVID-19 has been part of our everyday lives — for an alarming time, the dominant feature. It’s also important to remember that marking the third year since the start of the pandemic in no way suggests it’s entirely over: Variants are still making people sick, Americans are dying every day, the virus is assuredly still in our midst.

We now have a better understanding, and better tools, including vaccines that proved essential in turning the tide against a deadly disease. We also are battle-tested, if still a little shell-shocked. The unfamiliarity of life during a pandemic won’t be an issue — next time.

And there will be a next time. If we’re lucky, we will continue to gain ground in the battle with COVID-19, and it’ll be a while before the next global pandemic. When it comes, we do have some muscle memory to call on, which could be helpful.

But there’s time enough for that. At the three-year mark, pause and take in the view, and marvel at just how the world changed in 2020. Take a moment to think about the millions of people — including, almost inevitably, a few people in your own circle — whose lives were ended, or upended forever. Set aside a few moments to bang a pot, figuratively or literally, for the essential workers who risked their own health to keep society afloat.

There’s much to grieve, but do not leave out the celebration. The depths of human compassion and the spirit of generosity were on wide display. Those who stumbled often found someone to catch them, and help them take tentative steps forward. Businesses survived, new entrepreneurs were born. Some workers were abruptly thrown onto new paths that turned out to lead to exciting new places.

Three years later, we are forever changed by the calamity, the catastrophe, that impacted every single person in some way or another. In 2023, some individuals, some businesses, are still recovering — for them, the three-year mark is just another day on a long road back. As a society, the best we can do is keep pushing forward, provide support where it’s needed and, most important of all, learn the lessons so that we are better prepared for the next time the unthinkable occurs.