Two years ago this week the COVID-19 pandemic started to affect every single American as lockdowns began across a number of states, which effectively shuttered restaurants, bars, offices, schools and more.
The sights and sounds of life changed overnight. Clattering downtowns went silent, storefronts were dark, clogged rush-hour freeways looked apocalyptic in their emptiness and so did subway cars and buses. There was nowhere to go for many of us and nothing to do -- except try not to panic -- the week the world stood still, and for many weeks afterward.
Two years in, let's take stock of what we've learned since the beginning of COVID-19 and consider how the virus has reshaped reality as we finally step forward into a post-pandemic world.
It's also time to ask the question: Are we better prepared for whatever catastrophe inevitably happens next? Experts say the answer is yes ... and no.
Among the outcomes that could make us better prepared for the next disease outbreak are a new forecasting center dedicated solely to preparing for the next pandemic called the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, which will become part of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a new bill with strong bipartisan support that would create a 9/11-style commission to investigate the COVID-19 response and how we can learn from it.
Culturally, experts said, there's a fresh understanding about the importance of curbing misinformation on social media platforms and emphasizing trust in doctors, scientists and healthcare systems.
There are also tangible takeaways from this pandemic that could speed response to the next, including new investment in air filtration systems in public buildings and vaccines built on a platform that can be 'changed relatively quickly when new variants or viruses emerge,' experts said.
Still, a December report from the Global Health Security Index found that 90% of countries have no plan for distributing vaccines or medications during an emergency and 70% lack sufficient capacity in hospitals, clinics and health centers, the report found.
Dr. Michael Osterholm, infectious disease expert and presidential advisor, has a pessimistic view of our preparedness based on the number of health professionals who've walked away from their line of work under extreme stress.
Osterholm says that close to 500,000 healthcare professionals have left the profession, adding that if we were to see another pandemic-level event we would be in the worst shape he's experienced in decades of service to public health.
"We have got to restore our medical experts in this world, including public health," Osterholm said. "This is not just about beds. It's not about equipment. It's the people to actually be there. I think that's an urgent need right now. How are we going to replace these people?"
The question remains, but it's safe to say the No. 1 lesson we've learned since March 2020 is the power of our own resilience. Mass layoffs, COVID loans and boosted unemployment pay early on morphed into companies desperate for workers. A stock market that set off alarm bells because of dangerous lows transitioned to a soaring economy. Extended families moved in together and learned to thrive in close quarters. Quarantine bubbles were formed with friends. Working parents became home school teachers.
Zoom calls became the new happy hour spot, not to mention baby shower and wedding venue, while kitchens and living rooms were reborn as the new office. America kept coming back with new and innovative ways to move forward, no matter how many knockout blows landed.
"Six months, seven months, eight months it was still going on and that's when it got a little scary," Francesco of Joe's Restaurant in New York told 1010 WINS, remembering dark days when only six or seven orders came in. They held on tight, planned for better days, and came out on the other side like so many others.
On the medical front, Americans learned researchers could make the scientifically improbable -- if not nearly impossible -- happen.
COVID-19 vaccines should have taken a decade or more to produce, experts said. But researchers got them into the first arms on a trial basis by mid-December 2020, breaking the previous vaccine creation record of four years. The vaccines prevented 1.2 million hospitalizations and saved 241,000 lives, according to a study published in January by the journal JAMA Network Open.
The pandemic has not only affected our physical health, but also, mental health. And we learned to take away the stigma of asking for help.
The average percentage of adults that reported symptoms of anxiety increased from 36.4% in August 2020 to 41.5% in February 2021, according to the CDC.
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Telehealth technology has become very prevalent, allowing people to attend routine doctor's appointments virtually and talk to mental health specialists. "I am optimistic that when we, hopefully soon, get to the other side of the pandemic, it will be easier for us to talk about mental health, give help and ask for help when we need it. And it will be easier for those who need help to get it," John MacPhee wrote in U.S. News and World Report.
Technology as a whole took big steps forward during the pandemic, as video conferences became the norm for remote work. That created the foundation of what many believe could become a new way of work for many Americans, one that sometimes involves pajama pants.
Pre-pandemic, only roughly 2% of the U.S. workforce worked remotely; by May 2020, that number had risen to close to 70 percent, according to the Society for Human Resources Management. When all is said and done, the group says 40% of companies have the 'potential for work-from-home arrangements.'
"People really want the flexibility of being able to work where they want and when they want," recruiter Sho Dewan, founder of Work Hap, told 1010 WINS, adding that being forced to work in an office is a deal breaker for some highly sought after job candidates. Although he did say that it's 'two sided,' and there's a place for spending time with colleagues in person.
On the technology front, we also learned to bond over experiences like Tik Tok videos, true crime podcasts and streaming video sensations like Netflix's "Tiger King" and ESPN's "The Last Dance." We figured out how to share experiences without leaving the house.
But could we do it again if we had to, and possibly better, with more lives saved? Only time will tell.
“Many people think the pandemic is behind us and it’s over (but) anything and everything we do to prepare for the next surge will make us better for the next pathogen as well,” said Rick Bright, chief executive of the Pandemic Prevention Institute at the Rockefeller Foundation and a former official for the US Department of Health and Human Services.
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