In the New York Times, national reporter Sarah Mervosh documents in an interactive article covering how peoples lives were changed after the COVID-19. “Across the United States and around the globe, nearly everyone experienced a moment when the coronavirus pandemic truly hit home for them. One year later, as the pandemic carries on, having claimed more than 2.6 million lives worldwide.”

The Times asked their readers “When did the pandemic become real for you? Nearly 2,000 people responded.” The following are a few selected quotes from peoples responses covered in the article:

The pandemic has become real when …

• I woke up and couldn’t smell coffee.
• the shelves were empty.
• Broadway went dark.
• I could no longer see my husband.
• we decided it was feasible to have another baby.
• my college graduation was cancelled.
• my father passed away.
• I began wiping down everything on in sight.
• my husband was laid off and my mom called me wheezing.
• the NBA shut down.

” A year ago … everything changed. Some changes were big. some subtle. But for each of us, there was a moment when the pandemic became real.”

• A Year of Trauma and Resilience: How the Pandemic Changed Everything
• One Year After Coronavirus Pandemic Declared, How Many Deaths From Covid-19?

Nothing during this entire pandemic felt so real as when I lay sobbing in my hospital bed not 24 hours after giving birth to my first child. My mother told me on the phone that the Canadian border agents were not letting her through the Toronto airport from the United States to come be with me.

Kelley Sykes, 27, Toronto (Source: The New York Times)

When my college graduation was canceled. Like many first-generation college students, it was heartbreaking for me to accept that my parents would never get to see me walk across that stage after everything they have sacrificed for me.

Gabby Gil, 22, Charlotte, N.C. (Source: The New York Times)

On a Saturday, we joyfully married — in an office, with just our parents. Seven days later, my grandma died without a funeral.

Emma Johnson, 26, St. Paul, Minn. (Source: The New York Times)

The second I walked through the red door of my hospital’s Covid I.C.U. There were about 10 patients, and most were face down and already on continuous dialysis. The wind was knocked out of me. I didn’t know if it was due to the N95 mask or the gravity of the situation.

Mary Keckeisen, 24, Dallas (Source: The New York Times)

When I contracted Covid despite taking as many precautions as I could. I cried for the rest of the day. I felt so powerless.

Kelley Schlise, 20, Madison, Wis. (Source: The New York Times)

I wrote my granddaughter a six-page letter reviewing our time together and what it meant to me in case I never saw her again.

Virginia Graves, 71, Rockport, Mass. (Source: The New York Times)

At every stage of life, milestones were upended. First breaths .., First words … and everything in between. It was a year of togetherness. And moments spent painfully apart.

The New York Times

In the Forbes, healthcare contributor Bruce Y. Lee writes “It’s now been one year or roughly 12 missed haircuts since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. And oh bleep what a year it’s been”.

“The first year of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic may forever be known as the year the U.S. paid a hefty price for not listening to science. It’s also a year that America was delivered yet another harsh warning to change its ways. Over the years, science has been taking more and more of a back seat in American society to the point of being seemingly relegated to the trunk of many policy-making discussions.”