The Pandemic Has Trapped Millions in Unending Grief

Ed Yong: “In just two years, Covid has become the third most common cause of death in the U.S., which means that it is also the third leading cause of grief in the U.S. Each American who has died of Covid has left an average of nine close relatives bereaved, creating a community of grievers larger than the population of all but 11 states…”

“Deaths from Covid have been unexpected, untimely, particularly painful, and, in many cases, preventable. The pandemic has replaced community with isolation, empathy with judgment, and opportunities for healing with relentless triggers. Some of these features accompany other causes of death, but Covid has woven them together and inflicted them at scale.”

“In 1 million instants, the disease has torn wounds in 9 million worlds, while creating the perfect conditions for those wounds to fester. It has opened up private grief to public scrutiny, all while depriving grievers of the collective support they need to recover. The U.S. seems intent on brushing aside its losses in its desire to move past the crisis. But the grief of millions of people is not going away.”