Five years after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, CoVid is usually discussed in the past tense – as if it happened.
But nothing as monumental as CoVid simply disappears. The disease forced us to reorganize our societies almost overnight. While the days of delay and mass death are behind us, disruptions of this scale are bound to have lasting, if not permanent, effects.
America today is simply a different country than it was before CoVid arrived, although some of the consequences are hard to measure. For example, the pandemic undoubtedly changed US politics, but how much and in what directions is hard to determine, given all the other players.
Over a million deaths and counting
The most important and obvious result of Covid is the lifetime toll it has taken, and continues to take. Since the pandemic began, more than 1.2 million people in the United States have died from Covid-related illnesses. During the first wave of infections, 15,000 people died each week. A later, even deadlier wave began in late 2020, reaching more than 25,000 weekly deaths. While those days are thankfully behind us, Covid still kills several hundred people each week.
Long-term health effects
The health impact of the virus, of course, goes beyond mortality. There have been more than 100 million confirmed cases of Covid in the US, although that number is likely to dramatically underestimate the true total. Most people recovered fully, but some did not. Millions reported long-term, in some cases debilitating, effects of Covid.
There will be 4 million more Americans living with a disability in 2024 than there were five years ago. Not all of this increase can be attributed directly to Covid, but there has been a significant increase in the number of people reporting a cognitive impairment over the past five years.
The way we work
When communal spaces suddenly became hotbeds of transmission for a deadly virus, America’s white-collar workforce suddenly had to learn to do their jobs remotely. Many of them never returned to the office. According to the latest available data, more than a third of us workers now do some or all of our work from home.
Employers have been trying to coax their employees back into the office for years, but with only limited success. Many home-based workers love their remote arrangements so much that they would be willing to take a pay cut or even quit to keep them.
In addition to the impact on individual companies, the rise of remote work has also dealt a huge blow to the commercial real estate industry. By one estimate, office buildings across the country have lost a total of $250 billion in value because so much space is sitting vacant. Some cities have given up on some of those offices that were ever filled and begun the arduous process of trying to convert them into residential housing.
The way we learn
Amerikas skolas arī masveidā tika slēgtas pandēmijas sākumposmā. Atšķirībā no attālā darba, kam ir bijusi neskaidra ietekme uz darba ņēmēju produktivitāti, tālmācība izrādījās slikta aizvietotāja personas instrukcijas lielākajai daļai studentu. Pandēmijas traucējumi izraisīja plašu mācību zaudējumu, kas joprojām nav novērsts piecus gadus vēlāk. Dusmas par to, ko daudzi uzskata par nevajadzīgu vai pārmērīgi ilgu skolas slēgšanu, ir palīdzējusi uzkurināt a krasi pagrimums apmierinātībā ar valsts skolām. Lielākajā daļā valstu valsts skolu uzņemšana ir samazinājusies no pirms pandēmijas.
Skolas slēgšana arī kalpoja par ekspromtu visā valstī. Lai gan daudzi vecāki labprāt atgriezās klasē, miljoniem nolēma, ka viņu bērnu izglītošana savās mājās ir labāka izvēle viņu ģimenēm. Mājas izglītībai ir sena vēsture ASV, bet pēdējos gados tā ir attīstīts No reliģiskajām saknēm kļūst daudzveidīgākas – gan struktūrā, gan ģimeņu veidos, kas to praktizē.
Kā mēs vakcinējamies
Dati no Amerikas skolām ir arī viens no labākajiem veidiem, kā izmērīt vēl vienu nozīmīgu pēc pandēmijas sociālās tendences: palielināta vakcīnu skepse. Anti-Vaccine noskaņojums Amerikā nav nekas jauns. Bet šis viedoklis ir kļuvis arvien plaši izplatīts Dažu pēdējo gadu laikā, šķiet, ir nepamatotas bailes par CVID-19 vakcīnām izlija pāri par vispārīgāku neuzticēšanos visām inokulācijām. Kā parādīja nesenais masalu uzliesmojums Teksasā, šai maiņai var būt nāvējošas sekas.
Veids, kā mēs skatāmies
Koronavīruss tika darīts īpaši liels trieciens. Ikgadējie kases ieņēmumi samazinājās 9 miljardi USD Pēc tam, kad teātri visā valstī bija spiesti slēģt. Iestudējumi arī apstājas, kas nozīmē, ka bija mazāk izlaidumu, lai auditoriju atgrieztu kino, kad bažas par drošību izbalēja. Nozare pēdējos gados ir guvusi ievērojamu progresu, taču tās izlaide un ienākumi joprojām ir krietni zemāki par to, kur viņi bija pandēmijas sākumā.
Bez citas izvēles kā meklēt izklaidi mājās, amerikāņi vērsās pie saviem televizoriem, un studijas miljardus ielēja straumēšanas platformās, lai nodrošinātu savu daļu no auditorijas. Pēdējo piecu gadu laikā mūsu attiecības ar televīziju ir būtiski mainījušās. Tradicionālajam kabelim ir krateris Kamēr straumēšanas pakalpojumi ir uzplaukuši. Pagājušajā gadā auditorija skatījās 23 miljonu gadu vērtība Straumēšanas saturs, pēc Nīlsena teiktā. Šī maiņa neietekmē tikai to, kā mēs baudām televizoru, tā varētu būt lielas sekas par nozares ilgtermiņa veselību.
Veids, ko mēs tērējam
Beyond one industry, the pandemic has had a lasting impact on the U.S. economy as a whole, but not in the way most would have expected when the world ground to a halt five years ago. The economy took a shaky start but quickly rebounded — thanks in part to trillions of dollars in stimulus from Congress. By early 2021, it had not only recovered the losses of the pandemic, but was also growing rapidly.
The past few years have seen steady economic growth, low unemployment, rising wages and a record stock market. But these positive trends have been paired with stubbornly high inflation, which has pushed the prices of basic consumer goods higher and higher.
Nowhere has the price of housing been more impactful since the pandemic than in the area. The recent surge in remote workers seeking more space and city dwellers moving to less densely populated areas has led to a surge in demand in a housing market already plagued by chronic supply shortages. In just two years, the median home sales price in the U.S. has increased by more than $150,000. The price pressure hasn’t just affected homeowners. Renters have also seen their housing costs rise significantly. High interest rates have kept things in check to some extent, but housing is still less affordable than it has been in decades.
