Pandemic emergency is over. Societal shifts linger.
May 11 marked the official end of the COVID-19 public health emergency in the United States, coming days after a similar declaration globally by the World Health Organization.
It鈥檚 not that medical experts say the pandemic itself has ended. But deaths attributed to the disease (聽in the U.S. since 2020) have slowed. Special federal resources responding to the pandemic will be winding down.
At its depths, the pandemic stirred public compassion and government assistance 鈥� with聽accompanying fraud. The current transition leaves behind questions about the pandemic鈥檚聽causes聽and how the U.S. and other nations can do better at聽preventing聽pandemics in the future.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onThe pandemic health emergency is officially over. But some related societal shifts could be lasting, from more remote work to a rise in children鈥檚 screen time.
Broad societal changes are also visible, some of which are highlighted in our graphics package here.聽
Barrero, Jose Maria, Nicholas Bloom, and Steven J. Davis, 2021, "Why working from home will stick"; Gallup; U.S. Department of Education; National Survey of Children's Health; The Child and Adolescent聽Health Measurement Initiative
The effects have hardly been one-size-fits-all. For some people, life is back to pre-2020 patterns. Others have seen positive changes, like closer ties to their family. (Predictions of a divorce surge聽.) And majorities think it鈥檚聽聽to continue offering remote options for working or attending community events.
Even as this summer shows a post-crisis rebound in travel, mental health experts worry about a fraying of social connections. It鈥檚 a concern that predates 2020, but聽recently U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy pointed to its deepening urgency when he declared a different 鈥渆pidemic鈥� 鈥撀�one of loneliness.
鈥淓ach of us can start now, in our own lives鈥� to address this, he urged in聽, 鈥渂y strengthening our聽connections and relationships.鈥�
