In the year 2020, the world was faced with a never-before-seen virus that spread at the rate of single touch. That virus was named the Corona Virus, which can also be known as COVID 19. While most people believe that the virus was formed in a lab, others believe that it started from the consumption of bats at a local market in China. Two years later, although there is still no real answer as to where the virus originated, the effects can be seen everywhere.
According to the CDC, COVID-19 is a highly infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which attacks the respiratory system and can spread from an infected person’s mouth or nose in small liquid particles when they cough, sneeze, speak, sing, or breathe. The Corona Virus was first reported in December of the 2019, but it wasn’t until the beginning of 2020 that things began to unfold at a rapid rate. It started as singular case in China, but quickly spread to other countries through flights and other sources of mobility from China, and once it reached other countries, many people across the world began to watch the drastic effects take place, which can be accounted for through death, unemployment, and lasting health conditions.
Since the start of 2020, based on official statistics taken by the CDC, COVID-19 has killed just a little more than 5 million people, which in the United States includes more than 630,000 alone. Due to a few false diagnoses, the true number of COVID-19’s death toll is still in question, but that does not change the fact that there has still been a large reporting of deaths. Statistics also show that COVID-19 was the fourth leading cause of death globally. Although the rate of mortality has settled down due to mask mandates and mandatory vaccinations being put into effect over the past couple of years across the globe, many people continue to pass, and it tends to occur most with adults over 70. Although COVID 19 is not only detrimental to those over 70, and can negatively affect anyone who catches it. It is simply more dangerous to those who are older due to their, genereally speaking, already diminishing health.
The COVID-19 pandemic not only caused millions of deaths, but caused a record rate of unemployment as well. Unemployment climbed to the highest rate since the Great Depression in many regions globally when the pandemic began, and in a study done by the Pew Research Center, data analysts found that one-in-four adults had struggled to pay their bills, a third dipped into savings or their retirement funding to support themselves, and nearly one-in-six had borrowed money from friends or family, and had gotten food from a food bank. At the beginning of the pandemic, about 11.3 million people were receiving stimulus checks, which are checks that are dispersed under governmental assistance. However, by October 2021, that number was cut in half due to the returning rise of employment.
Still, even as the economy begins to rise again, there is also a problem that has risen, which is that many companies are suffering when it comes to the number of employees that have come back to work, and who have even taken their first job. Most companies have been left without funding themselves, therefore have been forced to lessen the pay and number of benefits included in their agreements. According to Tom McMullen, a senior client partner in the Chicago office of Korn Ferry, an organizational consulting firm, even managers are taking pay cuts. McMullen stated that in relations to pay cuts, “many companies would be a better place if leaders were out front setting the standard, treating employees like adults,” and also saying, “We the people will come out of this and here’s how”. As the globe begins to recover from economic hardships, many nations are working together to help support one another, while developing a stronger in-house economy as well.
With an extremely high amount of deaths and unemployment throughout 2020 to 2022, long lasting health conditions must also be recognized. While most people who contract COVID-19 recover fully within a few weeks, some people, including those who had slight versions of the disease, continue to face extreme symptoms after they initially recovered. Often described as “long haulers”, the people who face these long-lasting conditions, face effects of COVID-19 that stick around for more than four weeks after they have been diagnosed.
Older people and people with many serious medical conditions are those most likely to experience long lasting COVID-19 symptoms, but even healthy younger adults, including children, can feel drained for weeks to months after contraction. If you do happen to catch COVID-19 and happen to feel worse after the initial recovery phase, expect to deal with problems such as shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, and extreme loss of taste or smell, and depression. According to Arun Venkatesan, a neurologist at the Johns Hopkins research center, you can also experience neurological damage as well. Venkatesan stated that, “Some individuals develop medium to long-term neurological symptoms following COVID infection, which can include brain fog, fatigue, headaches, and dizziness.”
COVID 19 has had drastic effects on all of society, and as the world begins to recover, the effects are more recognizable than ever. Whether it be death, unemployment, and long-lasting health conditions that are causing a change within our communities, humans must realize that this global virus is serious, and, in that case, we must begin to treat it as such.
