By Betsy Clarke

Starting in the fall of 2019, a deadly virus was introduced to our world and shut down communities for nearly two years. Prior to COVID-19, online school, wearing masks in public, and being unable to see family and friends were problems we never thought we would encounter. Yet, within months, these all became norms in our lives. There was no shortage of media coverage on the beginnings of COVID-19, and everyone was quickly warned of the dangers it brought. The virus originated in Wuhan, China and quickly spread into a global pandemic.

An artistic rendering of the COVID-19 virus. Image credit: Rawpixel.com.

By March 2020, people throughout the US and the world were getting infected, and society began to take precautions. Within a few weeks, the world went on full lockdown. Schools, restaurants, and stores were shut down, and fear spread throughout communities. Nobody knew what the virus was capable of or how long life would be shut down. While some schools were able to go online, others did not have this privilege. Education was essentially paused for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. 

Along with school, everyday patterns that aren’t typically considered became unavailable. People took a completely different approach to grocery shopping. Families were stocking up on food, and many people left their groceries outside for up to two days, hoping to kill the germs. At the time, there was little knowledge of the capabilities of the virus; therefore, people prepared for the worst. People also began wearing face masks everywhere in public. Almost all stores required customers to wear them, and many schools required them for the following year. 

Collegiate School’s COVID-19 safety guidelines. Photo credit: @Collegiaterva via Instagram.

There was plenty of controversy over mask guidelines, especially which masks actually prevented COVID-19 from spreading. The CDC recommended wearing KN95s and tightly fitting surgical masks over cloth masks, as they provide more protection. The CDC guidelines stated that  “cloth masks should be washed at least once a day” and “disposable masks should be thrown away after they’re worn once.” Face masks were only one of the many changes to everyday life. Social distancing was expected, especially at school. Apart from family members, everyone was warned to stay at least six feet away from others. Changes, such as limiting the number of people allowed in stores, were made to keep people separated in public spaces, 

Nowadays, COVID-19 is viewed more casually by many people, but in the first year of its existence, it consumed our thoughts and fears. Over 350,000 people in the United States died from the virus in 2020, with three million deaths worldwide. Infants, elders, and those with health problems or compromised immune systems were at especially high risk. Despite this, the virus also did not affect certain people. Some contracted the virus and had no idea, as they were asymptomatic, meaning they portrayed no symptoms. Asymptomatic people could still spread COVID-19, though, which made it necessary for everyone to quarantine and mask, not just those who contracted the virus and displayed symptoms. 

As the months passed, people began adapting to this new lifestyle. Wearing masks and online classes were the new norm. While all of these precautions for COVID-19 were taking place, the newly made COVID-19 vaccine was being approved by the FDA at a record-breaking pace, in an operation known as Operation Warp Speed, a federal attempt to speed up the vaccine process. Typically, when vaccines are made, they go through a variety of clinical trials and can take up to ten years to be approved. 

Photo credit: Asian Development Bank via Flickr.

There are usually three phases of vaccine trials, with phases one and two taking around three months and phase three taking around nine months. The COVID-19 vaccine was developed with a much different approach. COVID-19 became so deadly so quickly that the need for a vaccine outweighed the need for the longer typical vaccine approval process. Unlike other vaccines, the COVID-19 vaccine was successfully made and approved in under a year. Because scientists had studied the coronavirus during the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, it made the process of creating the vaccine much easier and quicker. When it came to vaccinating people, each state was equipped with the vaccine and given the choice of how they wanted to distribute it. With that, the federal government interfered to help vaccinate high-risk communities. 

My grandfather, Boyd Clarke, who has a degree in biochemistry, has worked with vaccines for around 30 years. Now semi-retired, he was the CEO of Aviron, the company that developed the flu vaccine mist. Prior to that, he was president of a European vaccine joint venture, and during the height of COVID-19, he was the chairman of the board of a small company that made flu vaccines. He has a wide knowledge base of vaccines and their development and got to see firsthand how the COVID-19 vaccine differed from other vaccines. 

Boyd Clarke. Photo credit: Boyd Clarke.

Today, there are many questions about whether COVID-19 is relevant or even dangerous in society. Clarke believes that COVID-19 is “definitely still important, just not as dangerous.” When viruses enter a community, they almost immediately adapt and mutate. Therefore, the first strains of COVID-19, SARS MERS, were far more dangerous than the recent ones. Viruses spread throughout populations, but they cannot if the virus kills too many of the hosts. Every new strain of COVID-19 that has appeared in the last four years mutated in a way that made it less dangerous for many people but spread more efficiently. Clarke believes that the strains of COVID-19 mutating was the first reason for the virus becoming less dangerous. He believes the second leading factor is that society built up immunity to the virus. For example, infants are much more susceptible to contracting influenza than adults, who have spent their whole lives around the virus and have built up immunity to it, but this does not take away from the dangerous effects of the flu on elders. Additionally, the flu varies in strains every year, making it necessary for people to get an annual flu shot. Furthermore, Clarke explained that, “COVID starts to mutate, so it becomes less likely to make you die, but it becomes more likely to spread, and as it spreads more and more, people contract it, so they are less likely to get it again.” 

Clarke said the third reason for COVID-19 becoming less dangerous is the vaccine and subsequent boosters. As a result of the vaccine, the number of people who the virus can target as a host shrinks, but the number of people immunized to the virus increases. The CDC shows that the chance of vaccinated people getting COVID-19 decreased by 54% from September to January 2023. While the COVID-19 vaccine does not fully prevent someone from contracting the disease, it increases chances of survival and recovery, as it makes the symptoms much milder. 

With the development of the vaccine, there were also people who refrained from getting it due to the possible dangers. Clarke stated, “I think everyone over the age of six months should be immunized against the initial immunization of COVID.” The CDC recommends the same about the initial COVID-19 vaccines and adds that “everyone aged five years and older should get one dose of an updated COVID-19 vaccine.” Clarke further explained his reasoning for why those over six months should get the shot, saying, “after six months old, you are no longer protected by maternal antibodies.” Regarding booster shots, he believes that “the CDC is going in the direction of recommending the booster for those over 65, or those with some health issue that would expose them to a respiratory disease.” He said that “whether or not it should be used in healthy adults is still an open debate.” UCH Health says that those who wish to get the booster should unless they “have recently been sick with COVID-19.” 

Clarke also addressed how the vaccine has affected some people long-term. Long Post-COVID Vaccination Syndrome (LPCVS) is a disease that has appeared in some patients after contracting the virus and receiving the vaccine. There are a variety of different symptoms for this disease, but some of the common ones include muscle pain, trouble sleeping, dizziness, and headaches. Clarke further says, “There are serious adverse effects that occur with these vaccines that are rare and real. But the risk-benefit ratio is overwhelmingly in favor of immunization.” While these long-lasting side effects are uncommon, they have still prevented people from choosing to get the vaccine. 

A Social Distancing Sign. Photo credit: citytransportinfo via Flickr.

There was, and still is, plenty of misinformation flooding the internet regarding vaccines, which made it easy for people to rely on incorrect information. Social media fueled the spread of false claims and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and the vaccine. A research study from Harvard Kennedy School showed that “as many as 36% of those who opposed the COVID vaccine relied on Facebook as their only pandemic information source in the first half of 2021.” 

Some people hesitated to get immunized due to the possible side effects, but some also feared the vaccine due to how quickly it was created. Clarke said the greatest difference between the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines was that “there was no shortage of money to develop these COVID-19 vaccines expeditiously.” Over 30 billion dollars have been spent on the COVID-19 vaccines, a leading factor in the unusually fast production. 

While COVID-19 is still present in our lives and will continue to be, the overall media coverage and attention regarding the pandemic has gone down. The vaccine has not stopped people from contracting COVID-19, but as the years have gone on and more discoveries have been made about COVID-19, the dangers of it have gone down drastically, and society has learned to live through the pandemic.