Axios Six years ago this week, COVID-19 dominated daily life. Schools closed, headlines tracked cases, and Ohio reported its first deaths and postponed a primary election.
Why it matters: Today, the pandemic that killed over 1 million Americans and reshaped society has largely faded from public conversation.
- That silence isn’t unusual — but it could have real consequences, an Ohio State University public health historian says.
Driving the news: Associate professor Marian Moser Jones and other researchers have interviewed over 120 local and state health officials across the U.S. to document how they navigated the pandemic.
- They hope to create a historical record before memories fade and society moves on.
- “There’s almost been a consensus — in a time when we don’t have consensus about a lot — that we’re going to move on and not talk about this anymore,” Moser Jones tells Axios.
What they’ve found: Many health care workers witnessed traumatic scenes, including patients dying alone, and endured months of fear and uncertainty before vaccines and treatments existed.