Is The COVID-19 Pandemic Over?

Yes. Probably. But as with many things, it depends.

Pictured: A pandemic. Photo by Liam Burnett-Blue on Unsplash

We’re currently nearing the end of 2024. It’s been almost 5 years since the very first reports of a new respiratory virus started coming out of Wuhan. In that time, we’ve seen ups and downs, waves and lockdowns, and endless arguments about almost every topic imaginable.

One of those myriad topics that seems to pop up regularly is the question of whether we are in a pandemic or not. According to some people, the pandemic ended almost as soon as it was declared, sometime around mid-2020. For others, the only way that we can call an end to this game is when COVID-19 is gone from the planet entirely.

The thing is, pretty much everyone who comments on this topic is, to some extent, right. Whether you think that the pandemic is over, or never will be, depends entirely on how you define pandemic.