But to many Americans who have long since returned to pre-COVID-19 activities and are now being forced back into the office, the remark may ring true.
The problem is that what “back to normal” feels like may differ from person to person, depending on the individual’s circumstances and by what criteria they are judging the pandemic to be over. The Conversation asked three scholars of different parts of U.S. society affected by the pandemic — public health, education and the economy — to evaluate just how “over” the pandemic is in their worlds. This is what they said:
Public health: Not all black and white
Lisa Miller, adjunct professor of epidemiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
President Biden has answered the question of whether the pandemic is over with a clear ‘yes,’ but this is not a black and white issue.
I understand the need Biden faces as a public figure to try to succinctly state where the country is and provide some hope and reassurance, but public health experts are still in a situation where no one can predict how the virus will mutate and evolve. These mutations may make the virus less dangerous, but it is also possible that the next variant could be more harmful.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what you call the current situation — COVID-19 still poses a significant, ongoing risk to the world. Pandemic or not, it is important to continue investing in the development of improved vaccines and bolstering the preparedness of the medical and public health systems. As COVID-19 wears on, the risk is that decision-makers will lose sight of these important goals.
The economy: Back to a new normal?
William Hauk, associate professor of economics, University of South Carolina
As an economic researcher, I can speak to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and its lingering effects.
And the good news is that the worst of the pandemic’s impact on the economy ended some time ago. After spiking to a postwar high of 14.7% in April 2020 as the ravages of the pandemic were taking its toll, the unemployment rate has been at 4% or lower for all of 2022. Notably, in the August employment report, the total number of employed workers in the U.S. exceeded its pre-pandemic high for the first time.
While the labor market has largely recovered, there are still economic ripples from the pandemic that the U.S. will be feeling for some time.
There are still supply-chain difficulties in some key areas, like computer chips. While we might have expected stronger recoveries in this area, geopolitical issues, such at the war in Ukraine, continue to cause problems. As a result, a full recovery may not occur for a while and may hamper efforts to fight higher inflation.
Finally, many Americans may be reevaluating their work-life balance as a result of the pandemic. The aggregate labor force numbers suggest that the “Great Resignation” might be more of a job reshuffle. However, the rise of “quiet quitting” — the phenomena of employees limiting their productivity and not going “above and beyond” — may lead many to conclude that workers are not as intrinsically motivated by their work as they were prior to COVID-19.
So while the “pandemic” phase of COVID-19 may be over for the economy, the rise of a new normal might be seen as the start of an “endemic” effect. That is, we are no longer in an emergency situation, but the “normal” that we are returning to may differ in many ways from the pre-COVID world.
The schools: Pandemic exacerbated gaps
Wayne Au, professor of education, University of Washington, Bothell
While it is true that public schools may have largely returned to “normal” operations in terms of no mandatory masking, a return to using high-stakes tests to measure teaching and learning, and in-person attendance policies, schools are not done with the pandemic.
The pandemic-induced traumas that many students have faced at home — through the deaths of friends and family, the impact of long COVID, isolation and anxiety brought on by the job insecurity of parents, and unequal access to health care — live inside of them as they attend classes today.
Many students are having to relearn how to be with each other in person and in social and academic settings. Moreover, students in low-income families are still trying to overcome the consequences of inequitable access to resources and technology at home during remote schooling.
The gaps in educational outcomes right now are the same as before the pandemic and appear at the intersection of race, class and immigration. In the same way the pandemic has exacerbated socioeconomic inequalities generally, it has similarly widened already-existing educational inequalities.
These problems have been intensified by the pandemic and may impact students — predominantly from lower-income backgrounds — for years to come.
Wayne Au is affiliated with Rethinking Schools.
Lisa Miller and William Hauk do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
Should you get your flu shot and COVID booster together? Here’s what experts say
Pfizer via AP
Answer: They're combination or "bivalent" shots that contain half the original vaccine that's been used since December 2020 and half protection against today's dominant omicron versions, BA.4 and BA.5. It's the first update to COVID-19 vaccines ever cleared by the Food and Drug Administration.
Pfizer via AP
Answer: They're combination or "bivalent" shots that contain half the original vaccine that's been used since December 2020 and half protection against today's dominant omicron versions, BA.4 and BA.5. It's the first update to COVID-19 vaccines ever cleared by the Food and Drug Administration.
Should you get your flu shot and COVID booster together? Here’s what experts say
AP file
Answer: Updated shots made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech are authorized for anyone 12 and older, and rival Moderna's version is for adults. They're to be used as a booster for anyone who's already had their primary vaccination series -- using shots from any U.S.-cleared company -- and regardless of how many boosters they've already gotten.
AP file
Answer: Updated shots made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech are authorized for anyone 12 and older, and rival Moderna's version is for adults. They're to be used as a booster for anyone who's already had their primary vaccination series -- using shots from any U.S.-cleared company -- and regardless of how many boosters they've already gotten.
Should you get your flu shot and COVID booster together? Here’s what experts say
Pfizer via AP
Answer: No. The FDA set the minimum wait time at two months. But advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it's better to wait longer. Some advise at least three months, another said someone who's not at high risk might wait as long as six months.
"If you wait a little more time, you get a better immunologic response," said CDC adviser Dr. Sarah Long of Drexel University.
That's because someone who recently got a booster already has more virus-fighting antibodies in their bloodstream. Antibodies gradually wane over time, and another shot too soon won't offer much extra benefit, explained Wherry, who wasn't involved with the government's decision-making.
Pfizer via AP
Answer: No. The FDA set the minimum wait time at two months. But advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it's better to wait longer. Some advise at least three months, another said someone who's not at high risk might wait as long as six months.
"If you wait a little more time, you get a better immunologic response," said CDC adviser Dr. Sarah Long of Drexel University.
That's because someone who recently got a booster already has more virus-fighting antibodies in their bloodstream. Antibodies gradually wane over time, and another shot too soon won't offer much extra benefit, explained Wherry, who wasn't involved with the government's decision-making.
Should you get your flu shot and COVID booster together? Here’s what experts say
Pfizer via AP
Answer: It's still important to get vaccinated even if you've already been infected -- but timing matters here, too.
The CDC has long told people to defer vaccination until they've recovered but also that people may consider waiting for three months after recovering to get a vaccination. And several CDC advisers say waiting the three months is important, both for potentially more benefit from the shot and to reduce chances of a rare side effect, heart inflammation, that sometimes affects teen boys and young men.
Pfizer via AP
Answer: It's still important to get vaccinated even if you've already been infected -- but timing matters here, too.
The CDC has long told people to defer vaccination until they've recovered but also that people may consider waiting for three months after recovering to get a vaccination. And several CDC advisers say waiting the three months is important, both for potentially more benefit from the shot and to reduce chances of a rare side effect, heart inflammation, that sometimes affects teen boys and young men.
Should you get your flu shot and COVID booster together? Here’s what experts say
Pfizer via AP
Answer: That's not clear, because tests of this exact recipe have only just begun in people.
The FDA cleared the new boosters based in large part on human studies of a similarly tweaked vaccine that's just been recommended by regulators in Europe. Those tweaked shots target an earlier omicron strain, BA.1, that circulated last winter, and studies found they revved up people's virus-fighting antibodies.
With that earlier omicron version now replaced by BA.4 and BA.5, the FDA ordered an additional tweak to the shots — and tests in mice showed they spark an equally good immune response.
There's no way to know if antibodies produced by an omicron-matched booster might last longer than a few months. But a booster also is supposed to strengthen immune system memory, adding to protection against serious illness from the ever-mutating virus.
Pfizer via AP
Answer: That's not clear, because tests of this exact recipe have only just begun in people.
The FDA cleared the new boosters based in large part on human studies of a similarly tweaked vaccine that's just been recommended by regulators in Europe. Those tweaked shots target an earlier omicron strain, BA.1, that circulated last winter, and studies found they revved up people's virus-fighting antibodies.
With that earlier omicron version now replaced by BA.4 and BA.5, the FDA ordered an additional tweak to the shots — and tests in mice showed they spark an equally good immune response.
There's no way to know if antibodies produced by an omicron-matched booster might last longer than a few months. But a booster also is supposed to strengthen immune system memory, adding to protection against serious illness from the ever-mutating virus.
Should you get your flu shot and COVID booster together? Here’s what experts say
AP file
Answer: The basic ingredients used in both omicron-targeting updated vaccines are the same. Testing by Pfizer and Moderna of their BA.1-targeted versions proved safe in human studies and CDC's advisers concluded the additional small recipe change should be no different.
Flu vaccines are updated every year without human trials.
AP file
Answer: The basic ingredients used in both omicron-targeting updated vaccines are the same. Testing by Pfizer and Moderna of their BA.1-targeted versions proved safe in human studies and CDC's advisers concluded the additional small recipe change should be no different.
Flu vaccines are updated every year without human trials.
Should you get your flu shot and COVID booster together? Here’s what experts say
AP file
Answer: Yes, one in each arm.
Should you get your flu shot and COVID booster together? Here’s what experts say
AP file
Answer: People at high risk from COVID-19 are encouraged to get the new booster when they're due. After all, BA.5 still is spreading widely and hospitalization rates in older adults have increased since spring.
Most Americans eligible for an updated booster have gone at least six months since their last shot, according to the CDC — plenty of time that another shot should trigger a good immune response.
But the original formula still offers good protection against severe illness and death, especially after that all-important first booster. So it's not uncommon for younger and healthier people to time boosters to take advantage of a shot's temporary jump in protection against even a mild infection.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
AP file
Answer: People at high risk from COVID-19 are encouraged to get the new booster when they're due. After all, BA.5 still is spreading widely and hospitalization rates in older adults have increased since spring.
Most Americans eligible for an updated booster have gone at least six months since their last shot, according to the CDC — plenty of time that another shot should trigger a good immune response.
But the original formula still offers good protection against severe illness and death, especially after that all-important first booster. So it's not uncommon for younger and healthier people to time boosters to take advantage of a shot's temporary jump in protection against even a mild infection.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Life is more normal now than it has been in years, as people do away with masks and social distancing. Stefan Tomic/E+ via Getty Images