March 11, 2021: One Year Anniversary of the COVID-19 Pandemic

One year ago today, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. This set into motion a set of events the world has not experienced since the H1N1 flu pandemic of 1918. Since the pandemic began, 118,000,000 people contracted COVID-19 and 2,620,000 people have died globally. In my home country of the United States, 29,200,000 contracted the disease and 529,000 have died.

My sympathy goes out to all the people affected by this horrible scourge. Besides the disease itself, unemployment in the United States jumped from 3.5% to 14.8% during the peak. If you have the means and it is safe to do so, please support local businesses.

My family is no stranger to COVID. On January 1, 2021, my wife was diagnosed positive. The news was especially concerning, since 6 months prior she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. The combination of covid, chemotherapy, a weakened immune system, and cancer is enough to make anyone take pause. I am happy to say; she pulled through with no major issues or hospitalizations. We presume our entire family was COVID positive because of flu-like symptoms, but no one else was officially tested. Jami was the only one who lost their sense of taste and smell.

To date, no immediate family member has experienced any significant impacts. Jami is doing well, her sense of taste and smell has returned. Our kids continue to attend in-person schooling, although it is much different from previous years. My job keeps me busy. The university needs the Internet and its supporting technology more than ever. We are blessed, for that I am eternally grateful!

While it may be faint, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. In the United States 9.8% of people are fully vaccinated, while 18.8% have their first shot. Do your part, trust the science, get the vaccine. By setting a good example, we will beat COVID-19 and life will return to normal.