The Lasting Impacts of COVID-19

It’s been four years since COVID-19 struck, transforming our modern world in ways we’d never seen before — and we’re still processing the aftershocks. The pandemic exposed fault lines lurking beneath the surface of our everyday lives — friendships and bonds that weren’t as strong as we thought; political rifts that turned into chasms; shifts in our fundamental beliefs of who we should trust, and what rules we should follow. It showed us how fragile we are — as human beings, and as a global community.

Now, we find ourselves trying to pick up the pieces — to understand what happened, and what we can do better next time. On this episode, we explore the major changes caused by the pandemic, what we can learn from them, and how we can move forward. We hear stories about one man’s dogged search for a treatment for his long COVID, how the pandemic both hurt and revived the field of public health, and how to repair relationships that became frayed or broken by the pressures of the pandemic.

ALSO HEARD:

• Daniel Lewis was a healthy 29-year-old when he first came down with a mild case of COVID-19. But within months, his symptoms had worsened — he developed a cardiovascular condition, struggled with chronic fatigue, and required a power wheelchair to get around. Lewis is one of millions of people around the world dealing with a debilitating case of long COVID. But recently, he found a reason to hope. Reporter Nichole Currie followed Lewis for months as he chased down his best bet at a treatment.
• In a lot of ways, the pandemic was public health’s finest hour — but it also led to a major breakdown in trust by the same public it aimed to protect. We talk with Sandro Galea, epidemiologist and dean of Boston University’s School of Public Health, about this complicated fallout, and how the field can regain trust. His book is “Within Reason: A Liberal Public Health for an Illiberal Time.”
• The field of public health may be at a crossroads, but it’s certainly gotten more attention over the last few years, inspiring a whole new generation of public health workers. Reporter Alan Yu caught up with two recent graduates in the field to see how the pandemic has shaped their paths.
• A lot of relationships took a beating during COVID-19 — and not all of them have recovered. We talk with psychologist Dan Gottlieb about what to think about before trying to repair a relationship, and the best way to approach it.