Perspectives S37/Ep11 Is Hindsight 20/20? Looking back 5 years post the Pandemic

March 2025 marks 5 years since the onset of the COVID19 Pandemic. It was a defining global crisis, reshaping every aspect of life—from healthcare and education to work and human connection. Emerging in late 2019, the virus rapidly spread across continents, claiming more than 7 million lives worldwide including 1.2 million cumulative deaths in the U.S. The crisis exposed deep vulnerabilities in public health systems and social safety nets. Lockdowns, mask mandates, and vaccine rollouts became the norm. Communities grappled with grief, isolation, and economic uncertainty. Yet amid the hardship, the pandemic also revealed extraordinary resilience, innovation, and solidarity, as people adapted, supported one another, and reimagined what it means to care for the collective good. Amy Comeau is the author of the award-winning book "Every Storm Runs Out of Rain." During COVID, Comeau led a team at Emory Healthcare as Vice President. She wrote to the team weekly. Those emails are the source for this book and a look back at that experience.