COVID-19’s Third Anniversary
March 9, 2023
Three years of sorrow, joy, sacrifice, and triumph
According to the World Health Organization, March 11 marks the third anniversary of the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although these past three years have been filled with sorrow, fear, and heartache, they have also included joy, triumph, and relief.
Individuals across the globe have faced this massive challenge together. Nearly everyone on Earth has been impacted in some way, from students switching to in-home learning, to researchers creating novel methods of treatment and preventative measures such as the COVID-19 vaccines, to whole societies facing challenges such as personal loss, labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, and other complications most people never expected.
As members of the healthcare community, the medical staff and colleagues of St. Mary’s have gone beyond the call of duty to serve our patients and communities. It has been such an honor and a privilege to see all that has been done to ensure our community has been – and will continue to be – taken care of as best as possible against a novel new virus and all of its repercussions.
It has been a challenging and frequently difficult journey. Surges brought tremendous stress to our providers and staff on the frontlines. High numbers of patients needed care at the same time many staff also became ill. Hope would rise as numbers fell, only to sink as the next surge arrived. Administrators worked late into the night for weeks on end finding creative ways to bring in essential supplies and additional staff.
Throughout it all, St. Mary’s staff had each other’s backs. Resilience, strength, faith and hope always won out over exhaustion and despair. People from across our communities came to our aid with everything from full meals to heartfelt prayers. Colleagues pulled extra shifts so that other colleagues could stay home with sick family members or because they were sick themselves. Nurses, techs and therapists went above and beyond to help patients connect with loved ones outside the hospital walls. Colleagues helped their fellow colleagues with bills, childcare, a shoulder to cry on, a prayer of love and support.
Even though there are fewer COVID cases and hospitalizations now, the virus is still with us. It is important to remain safe – not only for yourself but for others as well – in order to continue this trend. Here are some preventative measures you can take as COVID changes from a pandemic disease to one that is less prevalent but always present:
- If you haven’t been vaccinated, please get vaccinated. After tens of millions of doses, the vaccines are proven to be safe and highly effective at preventing serious illness and death.
- Stay up-to-date with your COVID vaccine. Vaccination helps the body develop protection against the virus that causes COVID-19. Immunity from a COVID vaccine or infection weakens over time, so staying up to date significantly reduces your risk of getting very sick, being hospitalized, or dying from the virus.
- Improve ventilation and spend time outdoors. Improving ventilation can help prevent the viral particles from building up indoors. Increasing ventilation and filtration can also help protect you from getting infected with and spreading the virus.
- If you have chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure or obesity, talk to your doctor about how best to manage them. Taking care of chronic conditions can reduce your risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19.
- Get tested for COVID-19 if needed. Testing is essential for knowing if you need to isolate and take other steps to take care of yourself and protect others. Always call your Primary Care Provider (PCP) if you test positive or have symptoms of COVID or other serious respiratory illnesses.
St. Mary’s loves the communities we serve. Thank you for helping us fight COVID-19 in the past, in the present, and in the years to come.