Editor’s note: This article was updated on Sept. 28 at 1:08 p.m. to reflect that Sydney McNair is the president of the OU Black Student Association, not the vice president.
Americans will have to continue living with COVID-19, according to OU’s former chief COVID officer, as the virus becomes part of history moving forward.
According to Yale Medicine, COVID-19 spiked during the past three summers, likely due to more individuals traveling and a new variant named EG.5.
“This particular variant seems to be able to escape the immune response if you previously had COVID or been vaccinated,” Dr. Dale Bratzler, dean of OU’s Hudson College of Public Health and former chief COVID officer, said.
Bratzler said he thinks people have let their guard down concerning COVID-19. A trend among people is that individuals get sick and obtain flu-like viruses or allergies, Bratzler said, but he encourages people to get tested so they know for sure what they are dealing with.
A new COVID-19 booster is now available in pharmacies across the U.S. Anyone older or with a chronic illness is recommended to receive the booster, Bratzler said.
Bratzler said anyone who is pregnant should get a booster because pregnant people do not fare well with COVID-19. He said pregnancy is a bad combination with COVID-19 in the same way cancer or immunosuppression conditions with the virus are.
Bratzler said he doesn’t believe the rise in cases will cause a shutdown or mask mandate but recommends that people wear masks if they feel ill and stay home if they test positive for COVID-19.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, staying up to date on vaccines and wearing masks can help prevent contracting the virus and decrease the strain on the health care system.
“We don’t want to shut down classes, and we don’t want to require everybody to be wearing masks. … If you have COVID-19, please protect those around you by staying home for five days and then wearing a mask for another five,” Bratzler said.
Students impacted by COVID-19 when the pandemic started in 2020 said experiencing the virus throughout their first years of college affected their understanding of school.
Luis Payan, a psychology senior, was a senior in high school when COVID-19 caused a shutdown. Payan said he did not get to finish high school the way he thought he was going to.
“My first two years of my college experience kind of set me back a little bit because of the pandemic,” Payan said.
Payan said he knows many individuals who had COVID-19, but he was fortunate to never test positive himself. Payan said he feels that COVID-19 spikes every semester as soon as school starts.
This fall, Oklahoma saw a 107% increase in hospitalizations due to COVID-19 from Aug. 19 to Sept. 2. Classes began at OU on Aug. 21.
In late August, Bratzler told OU Daily as people return to campus, there will be increased cases of COVID-19.
“People just forget to take care of themselves,” Payan said.
Payan said he hopes there will be a time when COVID-19 dies out, but he would not be surprised if the virus stayed given how long it remained active.
“We were just super impatient. I think people want to go back to normal, and I feel like when we went back to, quote-unquote, normal, we were not necessarily ready for it,” Payan said.
Payan is unsure if a mask mandate or a campus-wide shutdown would occur, as he believes people think they don’t need to wear a mask.
“It was a struggle to begin with when COVID started, and it is still a struggle to have people get their mask on,” Payan said.
Sydney McNair, public relations senior and OU Black Student Association president, was a senior in high school getting ready for prom and graduation, just like every other high school senior in 2020, when everything came to a halt.
McNair missed social interactions when put into a pandemic and shutdown. As a social person, McNair’s mental health was affected because of the virus, leading her to be more reserved when the shutdown ended.
People have experienced what some call COVID-19 fatigue, which indicates being worn out from the events happening with the virus.
When arriving at college for the first time, McNair had a different experience than others from previous years on move-in day. For example, her parents could only stay two hours during move-in to help set up her room.
McNair said she now sees COVID-19 as a natural part of history, much like the flu.
“We get prepared for the flu every year; we’re going to get prepared for COVID-19. I feel like it will never be as bad as it was the first time because we just weren’t prepared at all,” McNair said.
As the new booster will be available this fall, McNair plans to get it as she lives with her dad who is considered high risk for COVID-19. McNair takes a COVID-19 shot every year because her parents are older, and it gives her a safety net when it comes to the holidays so that she does not have to worry about what she has or who she hangs out with.
McNair said people either forgot about COVID-19 or do not see it as a threat anymore.
“With so many people who did pass away from COVID, I don’t think people will ever be like, ‘Oh, COVID is not coming back.’ I think sometimes we’ve adjusted to our old routines, and we still have to remember that this is still new; we’re the first people to ever deal with COVID,” McNair said.
This article was edited by Taylor Jones, Peggy Dodd and Alexia Aston. Mary Ann Livingood and Avery Avery copy edited this story.
