It has been a year since the World Health Organization officially declared the Covid pandemic on March 11, 2020.
In that period, there were more than 29 million cases of Covid in the USA and 527,720 people died. Now, after months of adapting to everything from wearing a mask to working from home, more than 60 million people have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine.
There are still doubts about how the pandemic will end and what it is like to live in a post-pandemic world. But a year later, CNBC Make It drew up a comprehensive guide, from information on current vaccines and variants to how to stay productive while working remotely and what endemic Covid-19 could mean for you.
Here’s what we learned about Covid and what you need to know to move on.
How this guide works:
There is an impressive amount of information about Covid-19. Therefore, CNBC Make It has distilled mandatory topics that can help you stay healthy and manage pandemic daily life. Here, you’ll find the most important information, as well as links to other useful stories that CNBC Make It reported last year. If you want to jump to a specific section, just click on it in the index below.
What you need to know about Covid vaccines
Three Covid vaccines are currently authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use. Experts say that you should get the vaccine that is available to you.
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna two-shot vaccines use innovative messenger RNA, or mRNA, technology. Moderna’s vaccine has been shown to be 94.1% effective. The Pfizer vaccine is 95% effective against Covid.
Both mRNA vaccines appear to be effective against many emerging variants. But Moderna began clinical trials for a booster injection targeting the South African strain on February 24.
The Johnson & Johnson single dose vaccine uses a common cold virus to provide cells with instructions on how to fight the coronavirus. It demonstrated 66% overall effectiveness in preventing Covid and was 86% effective in preventing serious illness and death from Covid.
Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky said the company is well positioned to handle variants.
Some other promising vaccines under development include one from Novavax and one from Oxford-AstraZeneca.
A timeline for when everyone will be vaccinated
On March 10, more than 30 million people in the United States were fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
President Joe Biden said that, thanks to an “accelerated process”, the United States will have sufficient supplies to vaccinate all adults in the country by the end of May.
But it can take until summer for “anyone and everyone” to really get vaccinated, Dr. Anthony Fauci told “Pod Save America” in an episode published on February 18.
It will take until May or June to vaccinate the priority groups, according to Fauci’s schedule. And then, it could take several months for all adults to have vaccines in their arms, he said.
As people are fully vaccinated, the CDC says you can safely visit other fully vaccinated people and even some unvaccinated people indoors, without wearing masks or social distance, according to the guidance released on March 8.
To check your own eligibility status, use the NBC News plan for your vaccine tool.
How to make a double mask correctly
Although vaccines have made returning to normal seem more like a reality, it is not yet time to get rid of the mask.
As more contagious Covid variants of the coronavirus emerge that challenge the effectiveness of current vaccines (such as those in South Africa), the CDC says that using a combination of surgical and tissue masks, also known as a “double mask”, can reduce exposure by about 96%.
Tying the ear straps of a surgical mask and then folding and straightening the material to fit the face well has also improved protection, the CDC found, as well as some other cuts.
And you can use telltale signs to find out if your N95 mask is real or fake.
The supplement that Dr. Fauci takes to help keep your immune system healthy
It can be difficult to go through all the so-called “immunity boosters”. Dr. Fauci said in September that most immunity supplements do nothing, but there is one exception: vitamin D deficiency can affect your susceptibility to infection, said Fauci.
“So, I wouldn’t mind recommending it, and I do it myself by taking vitamin D supplements,” he told Jennifer Garner during an Instagram Live.
It is also good to take vitamin C, which has an antioxidant effect, said Fauci. But “any of the other mixtures and herbs I wouldn’t do,” he said.
Fauci also recommended other habits that can keep your immune system running smoothly, such as getting enough sleep and reducing stress.
The psychological cost of the pandemic and how to deal with it
Many people have been experiencing the pandemic in a constant state of uncertainty. And “fear and anxiety really go hand in hand: the more things are uncertain, the more we will fear and the more we fear things, the more we are anxious,” says Kevin Antshel, clinical psychologist and director of the clinical psychology program at Syracuse University.
In addition, people are suffering from the loss of jobs, loved ones and a “normal” life. Some, especially frontline healthcare professionals, may even experience some form or symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Therefore, it is important to recognize the signs that long-term stress is negatively affecting your mental health and to know what to do about it. There are strategies and mindsets, like reshaping your thoughts or focusing on goal-oriented tasks, that can help you cope.
Cheap ways to make your WFH space more ergonomic
How to Fix Video Conferencing Exhaustion
Since so many aspects of our lives have become virtual, from medical appointments to meetings and schools, video calls have become exhausting. And video conferencing is here to stay, even after the pandemic.
“The way we get involved in space communicates a lot about our intentions, our relationships and even our values - with video chat, all of these things really get flattened, diluted and are often completely lost,” the media expert digital James Jarc told CNBC Make It.
But there are ways to deal with common frustrations, from covering the miniature face with a post-it note to taking advantage of the chat function.
4 books that Bill Gates recommends for pandemic reading
In November, Gates shared four edifying or educational books to read during the pandemic. Some of the suggestions address urgent issues, such as “Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World” by Fareed Zakaria. Others, like a history book about Winston Churchill during World War II, point to how leaders act under pressure.
Whichever title piques your interest, research has shown that reading can reduce your stress levels as effectively as other relaxation methods.
Experts say Covid will become endemic
In a February survey of more than 100 immunologists, infectious disease researchers and virologists, nearly 90% said SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid, will become endemic.
When a disease becomes “endemic”, it means that there is a “constant presence and / or usual prevalence of a disease or infectious agent in a population within a geographical area,” according to the CDC. The flu is a good example.
In the coming years, if Covid becomes endemic, it will probably not be as serious or fatal. But regular testing and annual vaccine boosters may become the norm.