Covid History

“Imagine a story that starts with a leak. Not just any leak—an engineered pathogen, maybe a bioweapon, released by accident or hubris. The initial response? Remarkable. Swift, focused, global. But then—stall. Not because the crisis was over, but because the implications were too unbearable.

To stop this virus meant changing how we lived. Cleaning the air. Wearing masks. Every day. Forever. And so, the public—spoon-fed lies by the status quo—chose the comfort of denial. The elites, deeply invested in preserving profit over people, sold the myth of “normalcy.” And the masses bought it wholesale. Soon came the exit ramps. Monoclonal antibodies—shut down. A promising protein-based vaccine from the little-guy company? Silenced. Buried. Anything that threatened the billion-dollar vaccine oligopoly or called for actual structural change was swept off the table. Because now—they told us—COVID was no longer important. Red states, the first to abandon public health altogether, dragged the science-forward communities into apathy. Collective fatigue was reframed as rationality. And just like that, masking—like every other preventative health behavior we fail to maintain (don’t smoke, don’t drink too much, exercise regularly)—was dropped. Only this time, it wasn’t just personal risk. It was communal air.

We could have given every school the same protections afforded to New England’s CDC directors and White House science advisors. But we didn’t. Instead, we said fuck Florence Nightingale and chose to reenact an Amber Heard–Johnny Depp toxic drama with our own public health system—shitting the bed on the simplest, most effective intervention of all: clean air.

Now, the former left-wing “health justice” crowd is out here farting their carcinogenic apathy, while a billionaire MD who might actually have something useful is selling his science on right-wing conspiracy TV. Like this script wasn’t bizarre enough already. Trump, ironically, helped his base discover death. And Biden? He finished the job for the lingerers. Now Trump is back—this time aiming to kill us in ten million other ways, with Measles Man (RFK Jr.) warning about food dye while ignoring the most contagious, immune-wrecking, airborne pathogen humanity has ever seen.

COVID isn’t over. It’s a vascular accelerant. A neurological saboteur. A viral remnant with no cure, no test, no reliable treatment, and no honest public reckoning. And yet here we are. Gaslit, infected, distracted. Coughing our way into oblivion.”

“In 2003, a novel coronavirus swept through Hong Kong, China, and Toronto.

It moved fast, killed quickly, and changed how we saw infectious disease.

This is the story of SARS: whistleblowers, cover-ups, and fear.”

“You lived through COVID-19, and now you can listen to survivors’ stories from across Vermont.

The Life Became Very Blurry podcast documents life during the pandemic through the eyes of everyone from health care workers to families. It’s a unique piece of history, and for some interviewees, it’s empowering.”

“I don’t think it’s widely appreciated yet just how much COVID disinformation is an assault on democracy.

COVID conspiracy theories were the best recruitment tool for the far right in decades.

They’ve left us damaged—undermined faith in our governing institutions, science, and modern medicine.”

40% of Americans say life will never get back to “normal.”

11% say they have Long Covid.

21% say they are very (3%) or somewhat (18%) worried about getting Covid.

58%, are worried that there will be another global pandemic in their lifetime, including 16% who are “very worried” and 42% “somewhat worried.”

5% say they “always” or “very often” wear a mask outside their home, and 13% do so “sometimes.” 28% “rarely” wear a mask, and 54% “never” do.

ABC 7 New York: COVID Impact: 5 years later

“Researchers don't have all the answers to that, Hsu said. But large numbers of people - many of them previously young, active and healthy - ‘are now effectively disabled because of long COVID.’”

“tern @1goodtern:

Right you lovely people. It's time to talk about the Third Bump again.

Strap in, this isn't good news. Just to give you a quick recap: Before the pandemic started, annual rates of sickness, new onset disability, and death were pretty constant here…”