March 11, 2020. The day that the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. The day that altogether changed and transformed the lives of billions of people. It has been almost three years since this historic day. The changes that came along with it are evident and numerous. It has not only affected the lives of individuals all across the world but has also changed some completely. The question remains, though.  Now, that the pandemic has been declared “over”, what transformations have occurred in a society where the virus “ceases” to exist?

On September 18, in an interview with “60 minutes”, President Biden officially declared the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The pandemic is over,” the President said “we still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lot of work on it … but the pandemic is over. If you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so, I think it’s changing.”

This statement by President Biden came with a wave of shock all throughout the political and medical geospatial world. While some claim that it was time for him to finally express this notion about COVID-believing it has been over for quite some time now, others-including his own team- were shocked by the news.

According to politico.com, “The declaration surprised the president’s own senior health officials, many of whom only learned about Biden’s remarks from tweets and news headlines. The president had not originally planned to make major news on COVID, nor had he discussed with his health advisers announcing an end to the pandemic soon.” two senior officials said.

Others are even more concerned about the negative effects this may have on the mindset of people. Health experts especially have already indicated the warning signs. They say that the COVID pandemic is not something that will have a clear ending date. Instead, it’ll be something the healthcare industry will have to face every year- in the same way it faces the flu. However, these comparisons to the flu are exactly what are getting others frustrated.

“But there’s a difference, Linda Spaulding, an infection prevention consultant, tells Fierce Healthcare. “It’s more dangerous than the flu. I just don’t like the comparison with the flu. It still causes more deaths than the flu does, but at least more people are vaccinated.”

There is also a concern that Biden deeming the pandemic over will cause a deep negative trajectory in the trend of individuals getting vaccinated. Many individuals are worried that now that Biden has stated that the pandemic is no longer a serious threat, people will stop putting their energy into keeping themselves safe and protected.

““My concern is that people will say it’s just like the flu and stop getting vaccinated in which case numbers will start going up again,” says Spaulding. “We’ll just have to see if people will still get vaccinated every year or twice a year, whatever they decide. They’ve already said that people who are immunocompromised or elderly will still have to be vaccinated twice a year.”

While the conditions of the pandemic have significantly improved, it’s still important to understand that the threat of COVID is something we, as a society, will have to live with for centuries to come. It’s vital that we put our selfish desires to the side and focus primarily on the well-being of our communities- especially those including the vulnerable populations of the world.