For two years, COVID-19 has stayed ongoing and detrimental to the health of people, globally speaking. It remains lethal and, up to this day,  has a persistent grasp on the lives of people who have been exposed to it. Anchorage’s COVID-19 Case Overview was recently updated January 24th with the help of data from Our World Data and New York Times, tallying into a total number of 86,108 cases and 452 deaths. COVID-19 causes quite a scare as it somehow periodically mutates into something worse and constantly resurfaces once people get too comfortable dealing with the situation. 

        People’s confidence in handling the pandemic has gone up since the release of the vaccines, which truly have done their job: fighting off COVID-19 and preventing it from getting worse if it does enter the body. It is harmful and always will be, and people must not forget that no matter what. Unfortunately, people nowadays are letting their guard down against the virus. Perhaps COVID-19, without a doubt, has gone too long. 

Bret, a 17-year-old senior at Dimond High School, has expressed his opinions about the active pandemic. Over the two years of wholly experiencing COVID-19, Bret mentioned how at this point, he has gotten used to wearing masks. “I’m pretty used to it, and I don’t really mind it anymore,” said Bret. In addition, when asked about his mask preferences, he answered that he very much prefers the commonly used surgical masks rather than cloth masks. Bret introduced two of his friends that experienced the virus firsthand. Bret said it was a worrisome experience and compared how he feels about it before and how he feels about the situation now. “If you asked me two years ago, I’d be scared. But now, I’m just done with it,”  Bret said. Bret expressed the same opinion to another question, asking how he would feel if he ever got to experience the virus himself. “I’m not really scared of COVID, but I won’t be able to hang out with my friends so I don’t want it,” Bret said. In this stressful situation, Bret seems to have something that is motivating him and keeping him careful of the dangers that COVID-19 holds.

To Bret, the pandemic is going on for way too long, causing him to get used to it and have some sort of lax attitude towards it. Is it a good thing to get accustomed to this pandemic? Should we treat this as our new normal? In the event that COVID-19 does not die down but the cases do lessen, we must continue to practice precautionary methods and maintain awareness and attentiveness with our surroundings. It never hurts to be careful. Finding a way to cope with this situation and eventually getting used to it is fine, but being healthy and safe is always a priority.