Living in a post–post-COVID world.
It’s been just about 31 months since COVID-19 first rocked our world – 31 months since we were first locked down, masked up, learning new terms like “the new normal,” and counting how many days we had left to quarantine on your fingers.
As the pandemic has recently been declared “over,” now might just be the perfect time to reflect and apply COVID-19 life lessons to the path ahead. Are we still living in a “new normal”? Have we returned to pre-COVID normal? What has COVID-19 specifically looked like in 2022? How can we use experiences we’ve gained to future diseases?
With these questions in mind, we’d like to recap COVID-19 in 2022 and provide insight into the lasting effects of the pandemic.
Vaccines and more.
In 2022, the FDA authorized use of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to use as a booster dose. About half of the US population received the first booster when it was available for distribution at the end of 2021.
This fell short in comparison to the 67% of the US population that had received the first two doses. But the good news is that COVID-19 vaccines proved to be effective in reducing the risk of severe illness and death.
Bottom line: Vaccines are effective in battling diseases and bringing down mortality rates. Special shout-out to healthcare workers and vaccine distributers everywhere!
Mental health: the second pandemic.
Lockdowns, small gatherings, and quarantines meant minimal contact with people and lots of time alone with your thoughts. Losing that social aspect of our lives took a mental toll on everyone.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), COVID-19 brought about a 25% increase in anxiety and depression worldwide. Luckily, we live in a time where mental health is increasingly recognized, and cultural awareness is shifting.
Bottom line: Mental health continues to be another pandemic to deal with, even after the COVID-19 pandemic. Be sure to reach out to a loved one and educate yourself and others on mental health.
Work is anywhere and everywhere.
I’m sure you remember the day you found out about school and work moving fully remote because of COVID-19 spreading like wildfire. Whether that meant moving home from college or learning the many intricacies of working from home with toddlers running around – everyone had to do their part adjusting to this “new normal.”
Flash-forward to today, schools and workplaces have now been able to adopt and promote a flexible schedule of working where you wish. In fact, 62% of employees in the US occasionally work remotely.
Bottom line: Working from home isn’t for everyone, but thanks to COVID-19, adjusting to people’s needs has never been easier. Pajamas and all.
Have something to share about the post–post-COVID world? Want to know more about what we and the pharma world is doing to adjust? Get in touch here.
