The pandemic has ended officially, but COVID-19 continues

AfroLA is collaborating with The Sick Times to report on what we have – and haven’t – learned as we navigate through COVID-19 and prepare for future global health threats. In the coming months, we will focus on COVID’s lasting effects in Los Angeles and California, and search for policies and practices that make an impact.

“There are a lot of people who say we were woefully unprepared for COVID,” said Taylor, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientist who was involved in the agency’s COVID-19 response. Their name has been changed because of fear of retaliation at their job.

Trump’s executive order severing the U.S.’s relationship with the WHO undermines routine health and safety practices, as well as emergency readiness. The WHO monitors health threats globally. The WHO Director-General alone has the authority to declare a “public health emergency of international concern,” following international law. That designation is their highest alert. The term “pandemic” isn’t used, as there is no official definition, though it’s generally accepted to mean a disease that crosses countries’ borders.

Trump’s dislike for WHO stems from his anger about its handling of COVID, which didn’t align with his view.

Taylor said the vaccines became available because of the close coordination of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as well as working with WHO. Those interactions are now forbidden.

“We righted the ship…some of the early days were horrific. The (COVID) vaccines were effective and saved lives,” said Taylor.

President Trump’s executive orders freezing funding and purging personnel in the federal health agencies have escalated concerns that we may be even less prepared than 2020.

“It’s a big TBD (to be determined) …but with Trump 2.0, I have no confidence, especially with Kennedy,” said Taylor.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., historically an ardent anti-vaccine crusader and COVID minimalist, was confirmed as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on Feb. 13, 2025.

“With the leadership (of HHS) hog-tied and the experienced folks leaving…it’s almost a perfect storm,” said Taylor, about hobbling preparedness.

In addition, the administration is considering canceling a $590 million agreement with Moderna to develop a vaccine against H5 avian influenza, which has the potential to emerge as a pandemic flu strain.

Trump’s executive orders slashed the budget and personnel for HHS, which oversees multiple health agencies, including the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), the FDA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These premiere agencies have responsibilities for all aspects of human and animal health, including tracking disease outbreaks, groundbreaking medical research and ensuring safe food, medicines and vaccines.

Most of us are alive because of the actions of those agencies, not only during COVID-19.

Trump’s dismantling of DEI programs, the gutting of HHS and crippling funding cuts to universities and research institutions are expected to halt medical research, including projects that proved beneficial for reigning in COVID. The loss of research places Americans in harm’s way and is perhaps the most dire lesson not learned from COVID.

In 2020, COVID-19 was new, and our immune system was naïve to it. The virus was a destructive pathogen in a family of coronaviruses, most of which cause the “common cold.” COVID-19 behaved anything but commonly, and we didn’t know how to defend against it.

In comes, research.

The scientific community quickly learned that the spikes covering the virus attach to human cells, and they have a particular fondness for the lungs and blood vessels. Understanding the attack on the veins and arteries in the heart, lungs and brain spurred development of life-saving treatments and vaccines.

COVID research led to multiple lifesaving discoveries, such as understanding its transmission, monitoring its spread through different communities and strategic distribution of resources. Health care professionals were slow to appreciate the wide range of COVID symptoms, from typical “cold and flu symptoms” to severe respiratory illness.

In addition, Long COVID, which is having persistent symptoms for at least 3 months, continues to be under-recognized or patients’ symptoms are dismissed. Research is just beginning to scratch the surface of Long COVID and other late consequences of COVID, such as blood clots, heart disease from injured coronary arteries, “[brain fog](https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-long-covid-19-brain-fog” and possibly an increased risk of dementia, among others.

Losing research impacts all health outcomes, as well as the economy. For example, in a research survey nearly 20 million adults reported having Long COVID, limiting their ability to work.

COVID showed the missing parts Many gaps in providing for the population were laid bare by COVID-19 in multiple areas, including:

All of these issues were intensified for communities of color and people living in rural or low-income areas.

Trust fall

The loss of trust in science, vaccines and public health also harms the nation’s readiness. Without trust in health officials, the public may not follow recommended precautions, as seen with the inconsistent use of masks. Less than one-half%20among%20adults%2065%2B.) of Americans, 65 and older, have received the recommended 2024-25 COVID vaccine, though the virus killed more than 47,000 Americans in 2024.

A surge in vaccine deniers has led to the largest measles outbreak in the U.S. in 30 years. To date, a total of 935 confirmed measles cases have been reported from 30 U.S. states and jurisdictions. In Texas, more than 680 people have been infected, and at least two children have died from this vaccine-preventable infection, as of May 2. Gaines County, Texas is the epicenter of the outbreak, an area where nearly 1 in 5 kindergarteners are not immunized against measles.

In Jan. 2025, only 54% of Americans reported trusting local and state public health agencies, down from 64% in 2023, according to a poll from KFF, formerly known as Kaiser Family Foundation. In the same poll, trust in the CDC also declined slightly.

However, distrust can be mitigated with using trusted messengers — an important lesson from COVID-19. Public health officials learned that working with community-based organizations and messengers who looked like their diverse communities were more effective.

“Building relationships with local community organizations is crucial to help disseminate information to hard-to-reach populations,” said an email from L.A. County public health.

The California state and L.A. County public health departments continue to work with community partners and trusted messengers to deliver updates for other health threats, such as influenza and measles.

In addition, communications from scientists are more effective when they work with trusted media tailored for their diverse communities. COVID also taught us the power of mainstream and social media for delivering accurate data, as well as misinformation. Promoting media literacy and leveraging use of trusted media are necessary to combat health misinformation, according to the American Psychological Association.

Lessons learned but not secured

Government policies, such as the American Rescue Plan, “stay-at-home” orders, shelter for unhoused people, expansion of Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California), and increased access to food permitted by waivers from the United States Department of Agriculture, provided invaluable support for struggling individuals, businesses and communities. Job recovery was related to the introduction of the federal subsidies. Although not without criticisms, these policies merit consideration for use in future pandemics.

For other COVID takeaways, lessons were learned, but the gains weren’t shored up. One example was the increase in resources for public health, which had suffered decades of anemic funding.

“There was COVID funding that local public health jurisdictions received through various federal appropriations, the most notable of which was the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act,” stated Los Angeles County Department of Public Health in an email to AfroLA.

The CARES Act funding expired, and public health’s funding flow started drying up.

Maintaining strong and consistent funding for public health was cited as an imperative from COVID, in a report from The National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine, the nation’s leading science experts.

Did any COVID-19 lessons stick?

“Humanity's memory is short, and what is not ever-present fades quickly,” said Dr. Manisha Juthani, a Yale University infectious diseases specialist in a 2021 Yale Medicine post.

This highlights the critical need for individual and family preparedness, even when a threat is not imminent. However, being prepared is often harder for people in communities of color, those who live in poverty or rural communities or have limited English proficiency. These communities are less likely to be prepared, in part due to financial constraints and less access to health care. Expansion of Medicaid, government subsidies and telehealth helped mitigate those disparities. Despite their proven utility, most of those programs have ended.

COVID-19 clearly reminded everyone that the health of one impacts the health of all. Yet, the narrative of individualism embraced by many Americans conflicts with making health decisions for the common good. Ignoring public health precautions to protect yourself and others, like wearing masks and getting vaccinated, was a contributor to the U.S. having the highest COVID mortality rate among wealthy nations.

COVID-19 laid bare the need for strong, well-funded public health agencies, brisk and innovative research to develop new vaccines and therapies, trust in science and scientists, and clear and timely communications for our diverse population. And ideally, embracing that community supersedes individuals.

With the current disruptions in health agencies due to Trump’s executive orders and the distrust of science and institutions, we may be more vulnerable to infectious diseases than we’ve ever been in the post-vaccine era.

“We will be less prepared, with paralyzing all aspects of the government that would respond to a pandemic,” said Taylor, the FDA scientist.