When the Pandemic Hit Home
New York Times readers share the moment they realized Covid would change the world.
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With the acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic fading even as the coronavirus persists and evolves, a new normal is taking shape around the world.
We asked readers how Covid has changed their attitudes towards life. Here is what they said:
“I'm a much more grateful person. Life is precious, and I see the beauty in all the little miracles that happen all around me. I'm a humbled human being now. I have more empathy and compassion towards everyone.” — Gil Gallegos, 59, Las Vegas, N.M.
“The pandemic has completely changed my approach to educating my child. My spouse and I had never seriously considered homeschooling until March 2020. Now, we wouldn't have it any other way.” — Kim Harper, 47, Clinton, Md.
“I had contamination OCD before the pandemic began. The last four years have been a steady string of my worst fears coming true. I never feel safe anymore. I know very well now that my body can betray me at any time.” — Adelia Brown, 23, Madison, Wis.
“I don’t take for granted the pleasure of being around people. Going to a show, a road trip, a restaurant, people watching at the opera. I love it.” — Philip Gunnels, 66, Sugar Land, Texas
“My remaining years are limited. On the one hand, I feel cheated out of many experiences I was looking forward to; on the other hand, I do not want to live my remaining years with long Covid. It’s hard.” — Sandra Wulach, 77, Edison, N.J.
New York Times readers share the moment they realized Covid would change the world.
By Catherine Pearson
The more time students spent in remote instruction, the further they fell behind. And, experts say, extended closures did little to stop the spread of Covid.
By Sarah Mervosh, Claire Cain Miller and Francesca Paris
Covid was declared a national emergency on March 13, 2020. Even as the threat of severe illness and death has faded, the pandemic’s effects linger.
By Julie Bosman
Covid brought live performance to a halt. Now the audience for pop concerts and sporting events has roared back, while attendance on Broadway and at some major museums is still down.
Four Years On, the Mysteries of Covid Are Unraveling
Are superdodgers real? Is Covid seasonal? And what’s behind its strangest symptoms? Here’s what we’ve learned.
By Knvul Sheikh
Long Covid May Lead to Measurable Cognitive Decline, Study Finds
People with long Covid symptoms scored slightly lower on a cognitive test than people who had recovered. But long Covid patients who eventually got better scored as well as those whose symptoms did not last long.
By Pam Belluck
Older Americans Should Get Another Covid Shot This Spring, C.D.C. Says
The agency recommended another round of vaccinations for Americans ages 65 and older.
By Apoorva Mandavilli
Your 2024 Guide to Covid Symptoms and Treatment
Rest, fluids and medications are your friends.
By Dana G. Smith
President Biden has homed in on the infamous moment, which crystallized the chaos of the Trump presidency, as he trolls his political opponent.
By Zolan Kanno-Youngs
The I.R.S. estimates that 940,000 people who didn’t file their returns for that year are due back money. The deadline for filing to get it is May 17.
By Ann Carrns
Officials are moving to increase enforcement and change laws in response to the rise in counterfeit or expired plates, which exploded during the pandemic.
By Michael Corkery
After a drawn-out global controversy over the coronavirus, the W.H.O. has updated its classification of how pathogens spread through the air.
By Carl Zimmer
Readers submitted small ways that the pandemic shifted their thinking for the better, or introduced a new joy into their life.
By Soumya Karlamangla
In the year after a pandemic-era policy preserving Medicaid coverage lapsed, more than 20 million people were dropped from the program at some point.
By Noah Weiland
Una nueva investigación muestra que las enfermedades hepáticas y otros problemas de salud vinculados con el alcohol aumentaron incluso más de lo esperado en las mujeres de 40 a 64 años durante la pandemia.
By Dani Blum
Originally charged after 190 decomposing bodies were found at their Colorado funeral home, the couple now face federal charges that they fraudulently obtained $880,000 in relief funds.
By Jesus Jiménez
A dozen red roses is timeless. But its price tag is not. At Ditmars Flower Shop in Queens, where costs have soared in recent years, a bouquet is $72, up from $60 in 2019.
By Stefanos Chen and Adrienne Grunwald
Prosecutors said Keith Berman falsely claimed he had invented a blood test that could detect Covid-19 in 15 seconds. His lawyer said he had put “genuine effort” into developing such a test.
By Michael Levenson
New research shows that alcohol-related liver disease and other health problems increased even more than expected among women ages 40 to 64 during the pandemic.
By Dani Blum
Prediction markets say former President Donald J. Trump has a good chance of winning. So far, the stock market is fine with that.
By Jeff Sommer
Delivery-only operations boomed during the pandemic. Now Wendy’s, Kroger and mom-and-pop food businesses are rethinking their operations.
By Julie Creswell
Uzodinma Iweala, chief executive of the Harlem institution, will leave at the end of 2024 after guiding it through pandemic years and securing funds.
By Dionne Searcey
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Theda Hammel wasn’t always sure her varied résumé would include “Stress Positions,” her directorial debut.
By Louis Lucero II
The Justice Department said more than $1.4 billion in stolen relief funds have been seized or forfeited. But estimates of the total stolen run into the tens of billions.
By Madeleine Ngo
The pandemic was tough on city centers and cultural institutions. What does that mean for Los Angeles, whose downtown depends on the arts?
By Robin Pogrebin
A surge of new residents into Rocky Mountain states drove up home prices. The result was property tax increases of 40 percent or more for some of those already there.
By David W. Chen
How the pandemic changed families’ lives and the culture of education.
By Katrin Bennhold, Sarah Mervosh, Clare Toeniskoetter, Luke Vander Ploeg, Summer Thomad, Diana Nguyen, M.J. Davis Lin, Paige Cowett, Marion Lozano, Dan Powell and Chris Wood
Narendra Modi has kept India on its swift upward path among the world’s largest economies. Many Indians are better off, though wealth gaps have widened.
By Alex Travelli
Sus empleados afirmaron que las dificultades de la empresa que fabrica aviones no son nuevas, pero que se agravaron durante la pandemia, cuando perdió a miles de sus trabajadores más experimentados.
By Niraj Chokshi and Sydney Ember
The company’s issues date back years, employees said, and were compounded by the pandemic, when it lost thousands of experienced workers.
By Niraj Chokshi and Sydney Ember
Despite its thirst for Australian wine, China had taxed the imports in 2020 over a dispute about Covid-19.
By Natasha Frost
The former superintendent and medical director of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home in Massachusetts were indicted in 2020 on charges of neglect after many residents became sick and died.
By Jesus Jiménez
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Pemgarda, available in the coming weeks, is intended for immunocompromised people who are unlikely to mount an adequate response after vaccination.
By Dani Blum
The outgoing chief executive’s four years in the top job were marked by safety scandals, grounded planes, Covid and more grounded planes.
By Santul Nerkar
The social media movement is the latest sign that some of China’s young people are resisting the compulsion to strive.
By Claire Fu and Daisuke Wakabayashi
Four years later, the shadow of the pandemic continues to play a profound role in voters’ pessimism and distrust amid a presidential rematch.
By Lisa Lerer, Jennifer Medina and Reid J. Epstein
Los científicos que estudian la evolución continua del virus y las respuestas inmunitarias del organismo esperan evitar un rebrote y comprender mejor la covid prolongada.
By Apoorva Mandavilli
Her music has quietly reappeared on the streaming service, two years after a departure over what she called “lies” about Covid-19 vaccines in podcasts.
By Ben Sisario
Scientists studying the virus’s continuing evolution, and the body’s immune responses, hope to head off a resurgence and to better understand long Covid.
By Apoorva Mandavilli
A report found that large firms pressured suppliers to favor them over competitors. It also concluded that some retailers “seem to have used rising costs as an opportunity to further hike prices.”
By Madeleine Ngo
Incidents of student misconduct have risen in New York City since pandemic disruptions, though serious crimes in schools have decreased.
By Bernard Mokam
La investigación sugiere que el expresidente de Brasil obtuvo la idea de falsificar su cartilla de vacunación para viajar a Estados Unidos de su ayudante Mauro Cid.
By Jack Nicas
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The federal police accused the former president of falsifying his Covid-19 vaccination records.
By Jack Nicas
Los expertos ofrecen consejos para reconocer las afirmaciones médicas falsas en internet y combatirlas en tus círculos cercanos, sin pelear con nadie.
By Dani Blum
According to a think tank’s analysis, another private college would attract the young talent that helps the city’s economy.
By James Barron
A new study of camera-trap images complicates the idea that all wildlife thrived during the Covid lockdowns.
By Emily Anthes
The war in Ukraine. Hamas’s attack on Israel. Inflation. The former president has insisted that none would have occurred if he had remained in office after 2020.
By Angelo Fichera
Experts offer tips for combating false medical claims in your own circles.
By Dani Blum
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