As we mark five years since COVID began, memories of fear and uncertainty linger, shaping our lives and society.
Chicago: Remember when COVID first hit? For me, it was February 13, 2020. My wife and I were at O’Hare, and I saw some flight attendants in masks. I thought, “Wow, this is news!”
But the real emotional start was in March. I still remember the empty shelves at Target. Just before the governor shut down restaurants, I went to Kamehachi for sushi. I was the only one there, and it felt eerie.
If we want to pinpoint the very first case in the Chicago area, it goes back to January 13, 2020. A woman returned from Wuhan, China, and soon became the first person in Illinois diagnosed with COVID. It was the start of a nightmare that would claim over a million lives in the U.S. alone.
Anniversaries can be tricky. Five years isn’t that long, but COVID feels like a distant memory for many. Some folks seem to have forgotten it ever happened or have developed a strong dislike for vaccines and masks. It’s strange how quickly we forget the lessons we should have learned.
COVID got tangled up in politics right from the start. It became a divisive issue, as if a virus cared about our political views. The pandemic was just one part of a chaotic year, with protests and riots following George Floyd’s murder and the Capitol riots in January. Not exactly the kind of memories we want to revisit.
Things changed when the vaccine rolled out in early 2021. Some people were hesitant to get it. I remember driving to Springfield, expecting a crowd at Walgreens, but it was eerily quiet. Just me and the staff.
People hoarded toilet paper like it was gold back in March 2020. I never ran out, but it was wild to see. I wanted to do something during the pandemic, so I started writing about the medical response. I teamed up with a photographer to cover the nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital.
I finally caught COVID in July 2023. I took Paxlovid and my wife’s chicken soup, and I bounced back quickly. I think the five vaccines helped. I spent a few days relaxing in the sun, which was a nice change from my usual routine.
So, when will COVID really end? The simple answer is never, especially for those who lost loved ones or are dealing with long COVID. But in a way, it feels like it ended a long time ago. We’ve forgotten the lessons, and that worries me for the next virus that comes our way.
Can we change this? I doubt it. About 1.1 million people in Illinois got COVID, and 21,000 died. That’s a staggering number. Yet, I haven’t seen any push to memorialize those lost to COVID, unlike the Vietnam Memorial.
They say those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. Let’s hope we remember this time.
Union members waiting for their COVID vaccine at a mass vaccination site in Chicago back in March 2021. It was a moment we won’t forget.
