COVID-19’s fifth anniversary: 5 areas where life changed in U.S.
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Sage Turek takes a COVID-19 saliva test at the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City, where the University of Utah Health Wellness Bus set up shop on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Lois is a longtime Deseret News special projects and family issues reporter, including health, parenting, aging and policy.
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KEY POINTS
COVID-19 arrived amid growing partisan divide, distrust of many institutions and a pick-what-you-believe atmosphere.
Remote work became a staple during the pandemic and many workers continue to work from home at least part time.
Most Americans now say there should have been fewer restrictions, per a Pew Research Center survey.
The U.S. COVID-19 pandemic began five years ago Tuesday, arriving in a country that already had a partisan divide that would continue to shape the reaction to restrictions.
Pew Research Center recently reported that was one of three major social trends happening at the time: Distrust in many institutions was growing and there was “massive splintering” of the information environment. America had stepped into a pick-your-own-truth period that the viral illness just complicated. In the Pew survey, 72% of U.S. adults said that the pandemic “did more to drive the country apart than to bring it together.”
The U.S. deaths have been easier to count than some of the disease’s impact. Worldometer, which stopped updating last April as case counts slowed way down — but didn’t stop, as COVID-19 still kills more than influenza — notes that the U.S. had 111,820,082 COVID-19 cases and 1,219,487 deaths. Utah was No. 28 in terms of deaths, at 5,719. California had the most, at just over 112,000, while Vermont had the least, at just over 1,100.
Millions of Americans still struggle with the lingering effects of long COVID.
Clearly, then the long-lasting and perhaps most profound impact varied from family to family, but there were societal changes, as well.
Of note in the Pew survey, “About half of U.S. adults or fewer now say their state elected officials (49%), Joe Biden (40%) and Donald Trump (38%) did an excellent or good job responding to the pandemic. A slim majority (56%) give positive ratings to public health officials, like those at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).”
The report adds that “only local hospitals get a full-throated approval from Americans: Looking back, 78% say medical centers in their area responded well to the pandemic.” And most of those surveyed say they are no longer afraid of the illness.
Slightly over half say the news media “exaggerated the risks of COVID-19 at least slightly,” including 80% of Republicans and 30% of Democrats.
The World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. Lots of things changed after the virus arrived. Here are five areas where the impact is still felt.
Dr. Angela Dunn, state epidemiologist, speaks with reporters following a press conference at the Utah Department of Health in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, where officials discussed new developments with the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and how the state’s health systems and hospitals are working together to prepare for possible community spread of the illness. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Gov. Gary Herbert speaks during a press conference addressing preparations for a potential outbreak of the coronavirus in Utah at the state Capitol in Salt Lake City on Monday, March 2, 2020. | Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News
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Cecilia Ochoa walks out of the Lehi Costco pushing a cart with water, toilet tissue and other items on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. Shoppers are being told that they can only buy up to five cases of water and up to three cases of toilet tissue from that store, as they prepare themselves during the coronavirus scare. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Matt Rascon, left, Lori Prichard and Jed Boal, all of KSL-TV, Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, who is spearheading the Utah COVID-19 Community Task Force, and Carolyn Gonot, executive director at the Utah Transit Authority, far right, listen to Dr. Angela Dunn, state epidemiologist, fifth from left, during a KSL-TV roundtable discussion on the community’s response and preparedness for the coronavirus at the Triad Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, March 5, 2020. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Registered nurse Aly Speak puts up an informational sign at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray for people exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms on Monday, March 9, 2020. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Visitors to the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City walk past signs offering information about masks for those who are experiencing fever, cough or difficulty breathing on Monday, March 9, 2020. The hospital is preparing for potential COVID-19 patients. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Transportable hospital tents that have been set up for potential COVID-19 patients are pictured at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City on Monday, March 9, 2020. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Alison Flynn Gaffney, executive director of service lines, ancillary and support services at University of Utah Health, left, and Philip Chaffee, senior director of emergency management at University of Utah Health, talk as they walk inside one of the two transportable hospital tents that have been set up for potential COVID-19 patients at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City on Monday, March 9, 2020. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) looks to make a pass around Toronto Raptors center Serge Ibaka (9) during an NBA game at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Monday, March 9, 2020. Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 March 11, shutting down the NBA. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Debbie Farka, marketing manager for Intermountain TeleHealth Services, demonstrates what a virtual visit with a doctor would be like at the Intermountain TeleHealth Center in Murray on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Intermountain Healthcare is expanding its TeleHealth and Connect Care Services to help combat COVID-19. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Dan Curtis, Salt Lake County budget analyst and fiscal manager, left, Shanell Beecher, Salt Lake County director of accounting, and Darrin Casper, Salt Lake County deputy mayor and chief financial officer, practice working remotely at the Salt Lake County Emergency Management building in South Salt Lake on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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People enter and exit The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. The church announced Wednesday that April's general conference sessions will be held virtually, some incoming missionaries will train remotely, and gatherings of multiple congregations in some areas will be postponed due to the spread of COVID-19. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Sister Katie Clark, a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Newport Beach, Calif., hugs her crying mother, Jeannie Clark, as they walk near the Provo Temple and the Missionary Training Center in Provo on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. The church announced Wednesday that April's general conference sessions will be held virtually, some incoming missionaries will train remotely, and gatherings of multiple congregations in some areas will be postponed due to the spread of COVID-19. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
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Missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints walk between buildings at the Missionary Training Center in Provo on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. The church announced Wednesday that April's general conference sessions will be held virtually, some incoming missionaries will train remotely, and gatherings of multiple congregations in some areas will be postponed due to the spread of COVID-19. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
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Elder Chase Steuer greets his family as hundreds of missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints return from the Philippines to Salt Lake City International Airport on Sunday, March 22, 2020. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
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A map showing the spread of COVID-19 cases is pictured in the Emergency Operations Center at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Thursday, March 12, 2020. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
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Dr. Kurt Hegmann, director of the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, left, Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, Gov. Gary Herbert and Dr. Joseph Miner, executive director of the Utah Department of Health, confer after a press conference in the Gold Room at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 13, 2020, where officials announced that Utah’s K-12 schools will experience a “soft closure” for two weeks, effective Monday, as the state deals with the spread of COVID-19. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
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Sophomores Zoe Scott and Oakleigh Harman wait for their bus to leave Murray High School on Thursday, March 12, 2020. Murray City School District announced Thursday it is closing its schools until further notice amid spread of the novel coronavirus in Utah. Most students and teachers left school after the announcement was made earlier in the day. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Alex Haslam, assistant facilities manager for Midvale Middle School, uses an electrostatic sprayer to disinfect lockers in the school on Monday, March 16, 2020. On Friday, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and state health and education officials closed schools for two weeks to help stop the spread of COVID-19. | Steve Griffin, Deseret News
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A student picks up a laptop at West High School in Salt Lake City on Thursday, March 19, 2020. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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A security guard turns people away at an entrance to City Creek Center in Salt Lake City after the shopping center closed for the day on Thursday, March 12, 2020. City Creek officials said they were closing to clean and disinfect after discovering that a shopper with a confirmed case of COVID-19 entered the mall on Tuesday. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
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Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, watches the board in the House chamber after voting at the Capitol in Salt Lake City during the last night of the 2020 legislative session on Thursday, March 12, 2020. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
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Gov. Gary Herbert, second from right, speaks about the spread of COVID-19 during a press conference in the Emergency Operations Center at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Thursday, March 12, 2020. Also appearing are, from left to right, Noelle Cockett, president of Utah State University, Dr. Michael L. Good, CEO of University of Utah Health, Ruth Watkins, president of the University of Utah, Dr. Angela Dunn, state epidemiologist, and Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
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Heather McCartin works from her home in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 13, 2020, amid growing fears over COVID-19. McCartin is a research assistant at the Utah Composites Lab at the University of Utah and is self-isolating as much as possible because she has cystic fibrosis, a chronic lung disease that makes her more vulnerable to the coronavirus. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
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An appointment-only drive-thru COVID-19 testing facility set up outside University of Utah Health's South Jordan Health Center is pictured on Friday, March 13, 2020. The facility will be operational Monday. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Hospital employees take swabs from people at an appointment-only drive-thru COVID-19 testing facility set up outside University of Utah Health's South Jordan Health Center on Friday, March 13, 2020.
Although the testing facility wasn't open to the public on Friday, the people were tested anyway. The facility will be operational Monday. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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McKenzie Horrocks cleans the seats and food trays between movies at the Megaplex Theatres at Jordan Commons in Sandy on Friday, March 13, 2020. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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People participate in a group workout at Tekton Fitness in Murray on Friday, March 13, 2020. Gym patrons began cleaning equipment with Clorox and were instructed to clean their hands before and after classes as part of the precautions the gym is taking during the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of signing in on tablets when they arrive, they were also instructed to sign in on their personal devices before arriving to class. | Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News
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Kylee Porter cleans a mat after a group workout at Tekton Fitness in Murray on Friday, March 13, 2020. Gym patrons began cleaning equipment with Clorox and were instructed to clean their hands before and after classes as part of the precautions the gym is taking during the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of signing in on tablets when they arrive, they were also instructed to sign in on their personal devices before arriving to class. | Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News
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Michael Kaleel, owner of a family operated restaurant, remains optimistic as the coronavirus pandemic affects his catering business and product supply at Wriggles in Murray on Friday, March 13, 2020. “I’ve shopped all day and I can’t find anything, that’s the problem that I’m having,” Kaleel told an employee, who called to check how business was going. | Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News
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A few people are spotted on what would normally be a more crowded downtown Salt Lake street on Saturday, March 14, 2020. Coronavirus concerns are keeping more people home. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Hospital employees work at a drive-thru COVID-19 testing facility tent outside University of Utah Health’s South Jordan Health Center on Monday, March 16, 2020. | Steve Griffin, Deseret News
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A family drives by to see and photograph Big Betsy, a 150-foot by 78-foot American flag, draped over Intermountain Medical Center in Murray on Thursday, May 21, 2020. | Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News
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Cedarwood at Sandy resident Yvonne Bolingbroke holds a sign for caregivers as community volunteers wave signs for the associates at the senior living community in Sandy on Saturday, April 4, 2020. The idea was to show the community's appreciation for the caregivers. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
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Michael Kaleel delivers a catering order of 50 breakfast wraps to Intermountain Healthcare offices in Murray on Saturday, March 14, 2020. An Intermountain Healthcare employee said that the company ordered catering for employees who are staffing a call center for the coronavirus among others who are also working. Kaleel lost 15 catering clients since Wednesday due to events canceling. “I knew it wasn’t just a fun event because I’m not getting calls right now,” Kaleel said. “I’m catering to the coronavirus.” | Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News
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Jack Kaleel takes a pack of paper towels to the back of the restaurant at Wriggles in Murray on Saturday, March 14, 2020. Kaleel waited outside of Sam’s Club before the store opened at 7 a.m. to try and secure the supply of paper towels his son Michael Kaleel needed to continue operating the family restaurant the day after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic. | Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News
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Chad Prichard, owner of Fat Daddy's Pizzeria in Provo, chats with Gisel Arredonado, 5, on Monday, March 16, 2020, as he gives away grab-and-go lunches for children who are out of school due to COVID-19 precautions. Gisel’s mom said they were unable to get lunch at the school her daughter attends because they arrived too late. | Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News
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Gina Nicole Line, owner of Advanced Deep Clean, and employee Shawn Whittington clean an office in a new building in Farmington on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Aaron Lloyd, manager at Rich’s Burgers-N-Grub in Salt Lake City, carries food to customers on Monday, March 16, 2020. Salt Lake County announced it would shut down all dine-in options for restaurants, taverns, bars, entertainment venues and clubs at 11 p.m. Monday in hopes of slowing the spread of the global coronavirus pandemic. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Stephanie Feller prepares for a Facebook Live yoga class at 21st Yoga in Salt Lake City on Thursday, March 19, 2020. Businesses are adapting to the restrictions placed on them as the government tries to control the coronavirus outbreak. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
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Signage instructs visitors to wait outside at the Liberty Senior Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Senior centers are not allowing people to congregate for meals due to concerns over spreading COVID-19 but are instead letting seniors pick up their meals. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
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Creekside Assisted Living and Senior Center resident Judy Taylor talks by cellphone to granddaughter Sally Taylor in Bountiful on Friday, March 27, 2020. Family of residents come to the window to see and talk to them via a cellphone due to COVID-19 restrictions. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
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Ryan Kirby shows his family a video message from President Russell M. Nelson during their gospel study at home using “Come, Follow Me — For Individuals and Families: Book of Mormon 2020,” a manual for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Lehi on Sunday, March 15, 2020. The church temporarily canceled all meetings and activities worldwide to limit public gatherings in response to the coronavirus pandemic. | Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News
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The Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple and the Jordan River Utah Temple are pictured on Wednesday, March 25, 2020. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that all temples worldwide will close due to COVID-19. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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The Rowe family, Natalie, 9, left; Judy; Mariella,13; and Dave Rowe participate in a Seventh-day Adventist church service from their home in Park City to comply with coronavirus precautions limiting gatherings in the state on Saturday, March 21, 2020. | Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News
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The Rev. Stephen Tilley, of St. John the Baptist Parish, meets Cary Winberg while sitting in his Jeep for a drive-up confession at a roundabout outside the Skaggs Catholic Center in Draper on Sunday, March 22, 2020. “He’s a good guy, he’s awesome. We’re meeting Jeep to Jeep today,” Winberg said. | Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News
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An employee works at the Associated Foods Stores distribution warehouse in Farr West, Weber County, on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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A Co-Diagnostics COVID-19 testing kit is pictured in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
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Co-Diagnostics lab analyst Madison Stark works with samples as the company produces COVID-19 testing kits in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
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A sign tells visitors that Alta Ski Area is closed on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Utah’s ski resorts are now closed due to the spread of COVID-19. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Shelves that once contained toilet paper are empty at a Smith’s grocery store in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
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Dairy products run low in a cooler at a Smith’s grocery store in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
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Verena Eyre, Maria Morales and Mariela Miranda distribute emergency food and hygiene kits outside of the Liberty Community Learning Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 20, 2020. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Signature Healthcare certified nursing assistant Stephanie Kinder wears and shows some of her homemade protective masks at her home in Sandy on Saturday, March 21, 2020. Kinder made masks for her colleagues because her company can no longer order them. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
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Kayla Farley uses a napkin to hold a gas nozzle to protect herself from the coronavirus at a Speedway in Salt Lake City on Monday, March 23, 2020. | Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News
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Maya Holcomb takes her prescription from Suzy Curley, a pharmacy technician, at the drive-thru window at Jolley's Compounding Pharmacy in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 24, 2020. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Lee Cherie Booth, a nurse with the Salt Lake County Health Department, tests an individual for COVID-19 outside of the Salt Lake City Public Health Center on Friday, April 10, 2020. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Matt Lemmon decorated his face mask to surprise his daughter, who he was picking up at the Salt Lake City International Airport on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Salt Lake City Justice Courts Judge Clemens Landau, right, speaks with a defendant outside a borrowed Salt Lake police mobile command center being used for a courtroom in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 27, 2020. Utah's criminal justice system is trying several new things in order to keep the courts running amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
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Zach Sharp, of Carlson Distributing, waits outside Murphy's Bar & Grill in Salt Lake City to remove beer kegs on Thursday, March 26, 2020. Sharp and his co-workers estimate that 124 million pints of beer will go down the drain while bars and restaurants are closed. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Jade Irwin and Mason Taylor watch "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" outside of Water Gardens Cinema 6, where two drive-in movie theaters are set up to accommodate social distancing due to COVID-19, in Pleasant Grove on Friday, March 27, 2020. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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People watch "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" from their vehicles outside of Water Gardens Cinema 6, where two drive-in movie theaters are set up to accommodate social distancing due to COVID-19, in Pleasant Grove on Friday, March 27, 2020. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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People play on the pickleball and tennis courts at the 11th Avenue Park in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. | Steve Griffin, Deseret News
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Utah Gov. Gary Herbert puts on a face mask during the daily COVID-19 media briefing at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Thursday, April 9, 2020. | Pool
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Groom Alyson Sá and bride Erin Welter communicate with friends and family following their bilingual wedding ceremony that was conducted via Zoom at Sá’s uncle's home in South Jordan on Saturday, March 28, 2020. The bride and groom's families joined the video union from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Apopka, Fla., along with their local Latter-day Saint bishop, who officiated their wedding from his home while in quarantine due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. “I mean, I always said that I wanted a crazy love story and I guess I’m getting one,” Welter said. | Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News
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Guests cheer and wave to newlyweds Michael and Stephanie Chaus during a drive-by wedding reception outside of Stephanie's parents' home in Cottonwood Heights on Saturday, March 28, 2020. The couple were to marry April 3 in the Jordan River Utah Temple, but their plans changed due to the spread of novel coronavirus. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Teachers at Farr West Elementary in Farr West, Weber County, line the street in front of the school and wave scarves at students driving past with their parents on the last day of classes on Friday, May 15, 2020. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Bodee Brown, Boston Brown, Dax Christensen, Baylor Karras and Nash Christensen wave to Hooper Elementary teachers parading around Hooper, Weber County, on Tuesday, March 24, 2020. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Teresa Riter, a fourth grade teacher at Farr West Elementary in Farr West, Weber County, waves a scarf at students during a drive-by parade in front of the school on the last day of classes on Friday, May 15, 2020. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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The windows at The Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City are illuminated in the shape of a heart on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
Education deficit
More young adults lived with their parents during the early pandemic days than at any point since the Great Depression, per a different Pew report.
And as Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, “Social isolation during the pandemic has had a lasting impact on mental health, particularly among children and adolescents.”
School closures have had a lasting impact on the students who experienced them, from diminished social engagement to challenges with actual classes. Online learning was a beast for many students, according to the Education Recovery Scorecard, a joint project of Harvard, Stanford and Dartmouth universities. The scorecard shows that as of last spring, the average U.S. student “remained nearly half a grade level behind pre-pandemic achievement in math and reading.”
Sophomore Zoe Scott waits for her bus to leave Murray High School on Thursday, March 12, 2020. Murray City School District announced Thursday it is closing its schools until further notice amid spread of the novel coronavirus in Utah. Most students and teachers left school after the announcement was made earlier in the day. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
It notes that socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities in math achievement have grown since the start of the pandemic.
Absenteeism is beginning to recover, per the report. But it’s not there yet.
Remote work
About 6 in 10 U.S. jobs had to be done in person. But nearly everyone else went home during the pandemic and remote work is still a staple for many people. One-third of those who were remote during the pandemic told Pew they still work remotely all the time. Forty-three percent say they are remote some or most of the time.
Sixty percent of those with teleworkable jobs say it has helped them improve their work-life balance, while still letting them do their jobs and meet deadlines. About half of those working remotely said they’d likely look for another job if the boss said they have to physically return to work.
But the pandemic caused unemployment to spike. Before COVID-19, it was 3.8%. Pew said by April 2020, the rate had risen to 14.4%, though by the end of 2021, it had dropped almost to pre-COVID levels.
More women left the workforce than men, Pew reported. And some who left have never returned. Meanwhile, a number of businesses simply could not hold on and closed during the pandemic.
Tyson Oldham works in his home office as his son Carson, 7, rattles his chair in Highland on Friday, Aug. 14, 2020. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Online church
Many church services went online during the heart of the pandemic and 36% of Americans said they watched religious services online or on TV in the last month. “But the pandemic did not shake American religion: The share participating in services in some way has been steady and the share who say COVID-19 had a big impact on their spiritual life is small,” per the Pew report.
Tyler and Sheree Godfrey watch the 190th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with their children Boston, Maddy, Gracie, Noah and T.J. from their home in Holladay on Saturday, April 4, 2020. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Distrust of science
The Pew study found that people were very frustrated during COVID-19 by changing advice. Early on, masking was actively discouraged as not very effective, for instance. Then it was mandated.
Today, just 1 in 5 Americans say they still mask in stores and businesses; for 80%, the answer is rarely or never.
As distrust of authority and so-called expertise grew, people started tuning out some resources and finding their own.
As the Journal Sentinel reported, quoting Sedona Chinn, an assistant professor and researcher in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at University of Wisconsin-Madison, folks who were frustrated started doing their own research, but it also “led to more misinformation and more anti-expert bias, making it all the much harder for solid science to break through.”
Brendan Bowen holds up a sign as he and other protesters gather in the City Center Park of Orem in opposition to mask mandates on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Some people did good research, getting information from many sources. Others went to sources that confirmed what they were already thinking, even if it was wrong.
Early mistakes as public health was learning about the novel coronavirus didn’t help that. Scientific American points out that U.S. officials “botched” initial testing and results were often inconclusive or slow. The whole issue of whether to mask or not and the changing advice amplified distrust.
Per the article, we are now more ready — and less ready — for another pandemic. We know we can make vaccines fast and develop tests, for instance. That’s helpful for the next event.
But, per the article, “Current threats to the institution of science itself are exacerbating the problem.” It points out that “some overtly anti-science and anti-vaccine people — most notably Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.,“ have been assigned to lead federal health agencies. ”He has made sweeping cuts to the CDC, the NIH and other science agencies," among other moves that may change how things would play out in a future pandemic.
Health care delivery
Masks are now readily available in health care facilities and use is encouraged for those who might have a contagious illness and those looking to avoid it. Seeing someone on a plane wearing a mask is not an uncommon sight.
Post-COVID, telemedicine is here to stay, experts say, potentially greatly improving access. As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported, “Patients getting behavioral health services across the (local health) network are just as likely to do so virtually as they are to visit a doctor or therapist in person. Online access has also made therapy more efficient to deliver across a large health system, eliminating the need for patients and therapists to physically be in the same place, said Anil Singh, executive medical director for population health at Highmark Health.”
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Telemedicine is growing in many areas of medicine, where it was once almost unheard of. Now people with mobility, transportation and timing issues can access care of many different types, including in the neurosciences.
Debbie Farka, marketing manager for Intermountain TeleHealth Services, demonstrates what a virtual visit with a doctor would be like at the Intermountain TeleHealth Center in Murray on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Intermountain Healthcare is expanding its TeleHealth and Connect Care Services to help combat COVID-19. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
That’s just one of the changes that hospitalist Dr. Russell Vinik, chief medical operations officer at University of Utah Healthcare and associate professor of medicine at the University of Utah, told Deseret News last year that he believes will last.
Vaccine skepticism has grown since COVID-19.
Routine screenings, which basically stopped during COVID-19, have not fully recovered. As Vinik noted, “One of the tragedies still impacting health is delayed screening. At the height of the pandemic, mammography dropped by over 50%, while colonoscopies fell as much as 80%. The cancers themselves weren’t suspended, just the search for them. So cancers were detected at later stages,” Vinik said. “Patients suffered because of that.”
