The COVID-19 pandemic marked a chilling, new chapter in American history, as its repercussions extended beyond public health and into the realms of politics and culture. In addition to the death toll (at the time of this writing, over 1 million in this country and nearly 6.7 million worldwide), the pandemic has created mass psychological trauma, fueled reactionary movements and even contributed to then-President Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 presidential election.
Now — more than two years after the pandemic reached America's shores, and almost three since COVID-19 was first discovered in China — the world is undoubtedly ready to move on. And 2022 was supposed to be the year that happened: three COVID vaccines were approved. Hundreds of millions were vaccinated. It seemed like herd immunity, high vaccination rates, and new bivalent vaccines might together be enough to stave off SARS-CoV-2.
