Reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic

Sometimes called the “great pause,” the COVID-19 pandemic began in late December 2019 in Wuhan, China. One month later, on Jan. 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a “public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC),” later naming the disease COVID-19—Coronavirus Disease 2019. Nearly three and a half years later, on May 5, 2023, the WHO officially announced that COVID-19 was no longer a global public health emergency.

Of course, the virus did not simply vanish. But it stopped infecting large numbers of people because many had acquired immunity—either through vaccination or by recovering from mild infections. In other words, we learned to live with it. The WHO has been clear that COVID-19 remains an “ongoing global health threat.”

In July 2023, newly elected President Marcos Jr. issued Proclamation 297, confidently declaring the pandemic over. Yet new variants continued to emerge. Fortunately, most—like the Omicron strains—caused milder infections compared to the more severe Delta variant.

With the protection offered by vaccines, people cautiously resumed travel as early as mid-2022. I, too, decided to embark on a long-promised cruise to the Greek Isles with my children and grandchildren, taking advantage of heavily discounted airfares and cruise prices.

The prolonged isolation of the pandemic made me acutely aware of life’s fragility. I became determined to fulfill a dream that my wife, Karina, and I had nurtured after retirement. Sadly, she passed away in 2019. The trip, which I saw as a tribute to her, exceeded all expectations. With the ship less than half-full, we enjoyed generous cabin upgrades and exceptional service from the largely Filipino crew. It was a memorable experience—one I may never be able to afford again.

Even after COVID-19 was officially downgraded as a public health emergency, it remained on my mind. In nearly 30 years of writing this column, I have never written more about any other subject. Reviewing my past work, I found that I had written at least 45 articles on various pandemic-related topics, from the virus’ origins and modes of transmission to debates on mask mandates, contact tracing, antigen testing, vaccine distribution, lockdowns, school closures, and mobility restrictions.

Then, in early August 2023—just two weeks after the government declared the pandemic over—I finally caught COVID-19. I was sick for two weeks, experiencing fever, nausea, coughing, loss of smell, and a deep sense of fatigue. Yet I never felt seriously at risk, reassured by the four Moderna shots I had received. I understood that as the virus mutated, immune evasion was always a possibility. Though updated vaccines were being developed, the latest versions were not readily available locally.

The pandemic was a challenging time for science. The virus was a moving target, requiring constant adjustments—not only to vaccines but also to health protocols. I recall the early optimism among scientists when SARS-CoV-2 initially seemed to mutate more slowly than other coronaviruses, allowing health authorities to stabilize their responses. That hope was short-lived. As the virus spread, particularly among immunocompromised individuals, it evolved rapidly, producing a dizzying succession of new variants with complex alphanumeric names.

The dream of “Zero-COVID” proved as unrealistic as the idea of eradicating the influenza virus. Viruses are an inescapable part of life; rather than treating them as enemies to be completely eliminated, humanity must learn to coexist with them.

The COVID-19 pandemic also put the credibility of scientific research under scrutiny. For those inclined toward vaccine skepticism, the ever-evolving guidance and shifting responses may have only deepened their doubts. But I have always seen science as an ongoing quest—a process of understanding, refining, and adapting. I remain convinced that, without vaccines, the pandemic would have lasted longer and claimed far more lives.

Five years on, the pandemic has left deep scars. It tested our resilience, reshaped our relationships, set back the education of our children, and forced us to confront life’s essential uncertainty. But it also reaffirmed the power of human ingenuity, collaboration, generosity, and the pursuit of knowledge. And for that, I remain hopeful.

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