Whether it’s having a habit of wearing a mask everywhere you go or sanitizing your hands every five minutes, COVID-19 has had a great impact on everyone’s lives. With death toll rates and hospitalization rates steadily declining and many Americans now vaccinated, it’s a given that many people will be optimistic and fully admit to themselves that “COVID-19 is over.” Regardless of what you believe or how cautious you are about the virus, COVID-19 isn’t finished.

With the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines now out for the public, many people further believe that the pandemic is coming to a close. Although this is not the case, statistics and the production of vaccines gives the country hope for a less fatal future with COVID- 19. The Pfizer vaccine, as of May 2021 was given approval for rollout to kids ages 12-15 which gives optimism to many. 402M doses of the vaccine have been given to Americans or, 56.8% of the American population being fully vaccinated.

Masks, from when COVID first entered the United States until now, are a continually debated topic. Whether it was lack of comfort or sheer laziness, many people from the beginning did not want to wear masks. Since the beginning of the pandemic, masks have proven to be effective amongst any age group. Among older individuals, the viral transmission rate with masks is reduced by 23%- 35%. The drop in transmission and contamination rates, regardless of age, extensively helps decline the transmission of the virus. 

Although more research has been done on the transmission of COVID- 19 across surfaces and has shown to not have significant transmission across surfaces, it is still important to keep up cleanliness habits. All disinfectants kill viruses and infections due to the interactions between the disinfectant and the physical properties of the virus, and this also stands for variants of SARS-CoV-2. 

Although COVID- 19 variants do not spread as easily through surfaces, it is important to continue to wear masks and get vaccinated if you can. Booster shots are now available for the elderly and those who are immunocompromised. COVID- 19 isn’t finished, but taking precautions such as wearing masks, getting vaccinated, and extra cleanliness precautions will slow down the spread of the virus and hopefully bring COVID- 19 to a slowdown.