At this point, there is not a doubt in anyone’s mind that the Covid 19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the year 2020. It has affected nearly every aspect of our lives. From grocery shopping, to travel, to work, school, and relationships, nothing feels normal. Schools closed and went online, businesses shut down, and some countries went into strict lockdowns. COVID-19 subsided somewhat during the summer months, the United States took advantage of this, but the pandemic never went away. Now it is back in full swing and it is stronger than ever. 

Many states are once again in a major crisis because of the high number of COVID- 19 cases appearing everyday. According to the Washington Post, some states, including Pennsylvania, have set new records for numbers of cases and deaths in the past week. The United States leads the world with the highest number  of COVID cases and deaths. As of December 2, there have been  14, 139,968 cases, 277,500 deaths and 8,353,592 people who have recovered, according to Worldometer. Just like when COVID- 19 started,  hospitals are once again running out of supplies and rooms and approaching capacity. Healthcare workers once again are having to make the decision who to help and who to turn away. 

 So why are we seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases? With restrictions not being enforced as strongly as they were when COVID-19 started, and people not as scared of the virus as they may have been before, people just don’t care as much anymore. Crowded events continue to happen, and people are getting together in groups without following the guidelines that are in place for their own safety. All of this is leading to the surge in cases. What we may not realize when we get together in groups is that we could be carrying COVID-19 and not know it. This then leads to more transmissions . 

People need to socialize with others. It is human nature. So after a long time of quarantine, people understandably want to get out and socialize again. When we leave our houses to go somewhere, we still need to social distance and wear a mask but the question is are we all doing this? COVID-19 cases can go back down, but only if we all participate and work together to stop the spread. As reported by Politico,  Dr. Janis Orlowski spoke to Anna Palmer about the rise in COVID- 19 cases and told her that there is a possibility that people in the United States could start to go back to a somewhat normal life by the end of May. But she also said this will only happen if we all follow the guidelines. She also said there is a good chance that COVID-19 will come back again in the fall of 2021  and that we need to be prepared to handle it better than what we are doing now. 

We all just need to take care of ourselves and the people around us, and keep each other safe by taking the proper precautions. If we want COVID-19 to go away so we can go back to a semblance  of a normal life, we need to each do our part. 

However, there is some good news! Several large drug companies have been working tirelessly on making a vaccine that will create immunity from the COVID-19 pandemic. There are some countries who have successfully made a vaccine that is almost 100% true to work. Many of the vaccines that they have made have a high success rate but there are still many unknowns. The determining factor will be if everyone will feel safe getting the vaccine. While it usually takes years to make a vaccine, COVID-19 vaccines are being made so quickly. This is definitely a turn off for some people. There are still many unknowns about COVID-19 but these new vaccine results are very promising.