Reflections on the two-year anniversary of COVID-19

Two years ago this month the world as we knew it came to a screeching halt. At work we often refer to it as the “before times.” The exact date when that happened was a little different for everyone. I remember attending a meeting (in person!) on March 10, 2020, and we all were talking about the virus that had been in the headlines in Europe and New York City. That same afternoon, driving home from the meeting, Governor Baker declared a state of emergency. I worked in the office in person for three more days. On March 13, 2020, I took my last stressful ride home on the T and on the commuter rail, slightly terrified that I would catch this new, scary, deadly virus. (Luckily, I did not.)

Christine Smith

That weekend I learned that we would be working from home for the next three weeks — or so we thought. Two years later I remain mostly working remotely; some colleagues I have not seen in person since March 2020. Many newer colleagues hired over the past two years I have never met in person. These are strange times in which we are living.

While people are still getting sick and dying from COVID-19, thankfully, the numbers are lower than they were just a couple of months ago. Still, as a country we are approaching one million deaths from COVID. While everyone seems to be rushing back to “normal” — and believe me, I am also looking forward to the return of some semblance of normal life — we risk losing so much by not stopping to remember those who we have lost and to assess what lessons we have learned. Moving on does not mean that we should not take time to remember what we have been through and what we have lost.

The first question that I cannot answer is how did nearly one million deaths become acceptable? Those who, from the beginning, said that COVID-19 was no big deal or fake news and public officials who refused to enact public health measures that would have saved lives have ignored the magnitude of the pandemic and the lives we have lost. There is a large void in communities across the country. As with any loss, there is a grieving process that so many are still going through.

In September, a bill was filed in the state legislature calling for the first Monday in March to be “COVID-19 Remembrance Day.” For some reason, the bill has stalled in committee and the first Monday of March has come and gone without it being passed. Similar legislation has been filed by Senator Markey on the federal level also without having been passed. A day of remembrance would be a good step towards honoring those we have lost. (The town of Canton held a beautiful remembrance ceremony of its own in October 2021.)

Finally, in the long term, we need to address the underlying issues that the pandemic revealed, such as inequities in health outcomes between people of color compared to the white population; the importance of paid sick time so workers who are sick can afford to stay home, recover and not further spread a virus; the need for health care for all people so they can receive treatment when sick; the need for safe working conditions and proper ventilation; the vital role schools and educators play not only in teaching our children but also in numerous other areas such as mental health, proper nutrition, child care and more; the dire lack of mental health services in our country; the need to pay workers a living wage; and so much more.

In addition, whether it was the stress of the pandemic or other factors, over the past two years Americans started to feel that it was okay to lash out against and threaten teachers, school committees, nurses, doctors, public health officials, and more. Some of this behavior happened right here in Canton. If we truly want to move forward from the pandemic, these issues will need to be addressed.

One hundred years ago, at the end of the 1918 influenza pandemic, the country was so anxious to move ahead that many promptly forgot what had happened. There are few memorials to those lost during that pandemic. The lessons learned were also not memorialized and many mistakes were repeated over the past two years. We need to ensure that the COVID-19 pandemic is not forgotten so we do not make the same mistakes again.

Christine Smith is a mother of three, an attorney and longtime Canton resident.

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Posted by Christine Smith on Mar 18 2022. Filed under Featured Content, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.