Introduction to the COVID-19 Pandemic
The patient wasn’t initially worried when she first caught COVID-19. Fully vaccinated and relatively healthy at the age of 41, Johanna Claudette of the Irving Park neighborhood thought the positive test in February 2022 wouldn’t be a big deal. But within days, her memory became spotty. Her heart raced and she became fatigued. Today, she said, she’s still grappling with blurry vision, chest pain and brain fog — all symptoms of the chronic condition called long COVID, which can linger for months or even years after an initial infection and which has afflicted millions worldwide.
The Initial Outbreak and Global Response
Five years ago, reports of the new and mysterious virus emanating from China gripped the globe in terror and uncertainty. As infections spread across continents, humanity raced to better understand the novel coronavirus and prevent its proliferation, with case counts, hospitalizations and deaths climbing rapidly. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, the first in over a century. The international agency urged everyone around the globe to work together to alter the course of the virus, which had already touched 114 nations and ended more than 4,000 lives.
National Emergency and Public Health Response
Days later, President Donald Trump proclaimed the virus a national emergency. Later that month, Gov. JB Pritzker issued a statewide stay-at-home order aimed at limiting viral transmission and protecting the health care system from becoming overwhelmed. Across Illinois and the nation, school buildings were empty. Normally bustling highways and downtown corridors were barren. Restaurants, shops and entertainment venues went dark, some to never reopen. And everyone tried to adapt to the “new normal,” as life with COVID-19 became commonly known.
Current State of the Pandemic
As the five-year anniversary of the pandemic approaches, the threat of the virus has been drastically reduced, with low rates of transmission and hospitalization across much of the nation. COVID-19 tests — once near impossible to find or take — are now sold at drugstores and shipped via mail. Billions have been vaccinated against the virus, an intervention Trump lauded as “one of the greatest achievements of mankind” during his first term. Yet local medical experts and scientists caution against letting down the nation’s guard against the ever-evolving virus as well as other health epidemics — and even another potential pandemic — that might emerge in the future.
Concerns Over Public Health Under the Trump Administration
As the second Trump presidency unfolds, various local leaders and public health experts are sounding the alarm about dramatic shifts in health care policy under the new administration, from threats to cut Medicaid to attempts to slash funding for research to anti-vaccination rhetoric coming from high-level federal officials. The state’s top health leader recently voiced grave concerns about the president’s January decision to cut ties with the World Health Organization; it was the second time Trump has done so, following his 2020 withdrawal during the height of the pandemic.
Impact on Long COVID Sufferers
Johanna Claudette at a music rehearsal space in Chicago on March 6, 2025. She experienced severe COVID-19 in February 2022, and twice more in 2024, which has led to long COVID symptoms, which she works to alleviate through medical procedures on a routine basis and participation in long COVID studies and mental health therapy. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune) Many medical professionals will never forget how the virus ravaged their patients and threatened to collapse the health care system not so long ago. They urge the nation to remain vigilant against emerging threats — and to not dismantle the public health strides of the past five years.
Lessons Learned
Dr. Marc Sala was working in the intensive care unit at Northwestern Memorial Hospital when the pandemic began. Terrified, he and his wife, who is also a doctor, printed off copies of their living wills “in preparation for the fact that we were going to do our jobs at any cost and we wanted to make sure our family was taken care of.” “We just went through hell,” said Sala, who is now co-director of the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive COVID-19 Center. “Let’s not forget all the lessons we took from this. This needs to be a learning experience for the next pandemic. If you’re thinking this is a once-in-a-100-years thing, you’re not paying attention.”
The Role of Vaccination
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she’ll always remember Dec. 15, 2020, the day the first COVID shots went into the arms of Chicago health care professionals. Some were moved to tears, she recalled. While the vaccine marked a turning point in the fight against the virus, Lightfoot recalled in an interview that its rollout was difficult, with local and national leaders trying to get initial doses to the most vulnerable populations as soon as possible while also combatting vaccine hesitancy. In recent years, public health experts have been increasingly troubled by low uptake for both the COVID shot and the seasonal flu vaccine locally as well as across the country.
Public Health Preparedness
Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, speaks alongside Gov. JB Pritzker on Feb. 26, 2024, in South Chicago. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) Vohra, the state health department director, said Illinois has increased its preparedness to handle public health emergencies, in part due to knowledge gained during the pandemic. In May, the state released a 33-page playbook chronicling measures to be taken in the event of a future health crisis, informed by lessons learned from COVID.
Threats to Public Health Funding
Marisol Dominguez works with positive COVID samples in a lab at the Regional Innovative Public Health Laboratory in Rush University’s Medical Center campus on March 3, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune) The Trump administration has attempted to drastically slash federal funding for medical and scientific research; Rush University President Dr. Robert Higgins warned during a news conference last month that these cuts would have “catastrophic effects on research studies nationwide.” A federal judge Wednesday blocked the cuts; lawsuits filed by a group of 22 states — including Illinois — and organizations representing universities, hospitals and research institutions across the country have argued that stripping the funding would cause “irreparable harm.”
Concerns About Future Pandemics
Dr. Emily Landon, an infectious disease specialist at University of Chicago Medicine, said she is “terrified” about the nation’s ability to handle another pandemic. She became a prominent voice in Illinois in the early days of the COVID crisis, speaking alongside the governor during a March 20, 2020 press conference when he announced the stay-at-home order for Illinois. The nation made mistakes in the months leading up to that order, Landon said. One of the biggest, she thinks, was that U.S. leaders didn’t take big enough steps to address COVID-19 early enough; they were reactive rather than proactive.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic has taught the world valuable lessons about public health, vaccination, and preparedness. However, the current administration’s policies and actions threaten to undermine these gains. It is crucial that the nation remains vigilant and continues to invest in public health infrastructure, research, and international cooperation to prevent and respond to future pandemics.
FAQs
Q: What is long COVID, and how does it affect individuals?
A: Long COVID refers to the chronic condition that can linger for months or even years after an initial COVID-19 infection, causing symptoms such as blurry vision, chest pain, and brain fog.
Q: What are the concerns about the Trump administration’s policies on public health?
A: The administration’s policies, including cutting ties with the World Health Organization, slashing funding for research, and promoting anti-vaccination rhetoric, are seen as threats to public health and the nation’s ability to respond to future pandemics.
Q: How can the nation prepare for future pandemics?
A: The nation can prepare for future pandemics by investing in public health infrastructure, research, and international cooperation, as well as promoting vaccination and public awareness about the importance of preparedness.
Q: What is the impact of the Trump administration’s cuts to public health funding?
A: The cuts to public health funding would have "catastrophic effects on research studies nationwide" and could lead to irreparable harm, according to lawsuits filed by states and research institutions.
