This winter marks five years since the onset of COVID-19, the infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that led to a global pandemic and more than 1.2 million deaths in the U.S.
To mark the milestone, Pew Research Center conducted a survey to gauge Americans’ views on the current COVID risk and how the pandemic was handled.
Around 21% of respondents said they still consider COVID-19 to be a “major threat” to the health of the U.S. population, down from 67% in July 2020.
“The government response to COVID taught us that clear, consistent and continuous community engagement is essential,” Lenihan, who is also the CEO of Ponce Health Sciences University, a medical school with campuses in Puerto Rico, Missouri and the British Virgin Islands, told Fox News Digital.
Since the pandemic, Americans have largely learned that they are responsible for their own health and for “making individual decisions about bolstering their immunity to infectious diseases,” one doctor said. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“Such connectivity facilitates that when there is a healthcare emergency, enough people know they can trust the guidance of their leaders as well as government departments, organizations and facilities.”
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Another big lesson from the pandemic, according to Lenihan, is that it’s essential for all medical experts and professionals to be “completely transparent” about which specific actions need to be taken for the benefit of society.
Melissa Rudy is senior health editor and a member of the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to melissa.rudy@fox.com.
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