Attitudes towards COVID-19 have shifted Post public health emergency:

Anjali Dalal-Whelan / News Editor 

Four months ago the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) ended the COVID-19 public health emergency, however, the spread of the illness is coming back into conversation. Ending the public health emergency does not mean that the illness is gone for good, only that it is no longer considered as large of a threat. 

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, has had many variants. Scientists have their eyes on a new strain that is derived from the Omicron variant. The Washington Post explained that “the strain, officially BA.2.86, was first spotted by virus trackers in mid-August…the new lineage has more than 30 mutations on its spike protein, which helps the virus latch onto cells and cause infection. That could make it better at evading immunity from vaccines and past infections.” 

As of Sept. 14, San Diego County has a 14.5% test positivity rate which has risen since July when the rate was 9.46%. This positivity rate only tracks lab tests, not at-home COVID tests which are commonly used. COVID-19-related deaths and hospitalizations are also on the rise in San Diego County. Although the numbers are rising, they are still significantly lower than they have been the past three Septembers. According to data from the CDC, in the first week of September 2020, the COVID death rate per 100,000 people in the U.S. was 1.5. In 2021 it rose to 4.7, last year it was 0.9, and this September it was 0.2. 

On Sept. 11, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two new mRNA COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommended this vaccine for all individuals above six months old. In a press release, the CDC stated that “vaccination remains the best protection against COVID-19-related hospitalization and death. Vaccination also reduces your chance of suffering the effects of Long COVID, which can develop during or following acute infection and last for an extended duration.”

According to USD’s COVID action plan, the Student Health Center does not have COVID-19 vaccines, because the distribution is controlled by the government. However, appointments are currently available at CVS and Walgreens for the new vaccine.

This fall marks the first semester at USD since 2020 in which COVID-19 is not considered a public health emergency. Because of this, USD has made changes to its COVID-19 policies. COVID-19 vaccines are no longer mandatory, but instead, strongly recommended. Face masks in the classroom remain at the discretion of faculty. 

USD Senior Julia Humphrey described the dramatic changes in COVID policies since her first year of college. Like many seniors, Humphrey’s first semester of college in 2020 was online, and she didn’t get to go to campus until her second semester. Humphrey expressed that her first and last years at USD were complete opposites due to COVID. “My first semester on campus I was stuck in my room and it felt like there was not a lot of sense of community,” Humphrey said. “But now I’m a senior and it feels like what college was made to be like.” 

While most students and faculty have shed their masks, and gone back to normal, USD professor Dr. Maura Giles-Watson in the English department explained her reasoning for continuing to require masks in class.  

 “I have a medically fragile family member at home whom I must protect from contracting COVID. He has not caught COVID because I have been careful not to catch it and bring it home to him,” Giles-Watson explained. “By consenting to wear masks in my classes, my students are participating in the ‘Culture of Care’ which is the fundamental guiding principle of our University community.”  

Dr. Giles-Watson expressed that once she receives the new COVID-19 vaccine and the positive test rates go down, she will stop requiring masks, but will likely continue to wear hers. 

Some USD students have contracted COVID-19 this semester. Giles-Watson said that almost half of one of her classes recently notified her that they had contracted or were exposed to COVID, resulting in her moving her class to Zoom. 

Sophomore Ernie Soto recently had COVID-19. While he was sick, he did not have a Zoom option to attend any of his classes, however, he was able to stay up-to-date through online programs, such as Blackboard and Canvas. As a Resident Assistant (RA), Soto lives in a single dorm and was easily able to isolate. However, he expressed that it would be more difficult if one of his residents in Maher had COVID-19, as many of them live in triple and quad dorms. 

“I think it would have been harder if I had roommates, because I don’t think there’s much space to move around [to isolate people] because it’s not really too bad of an issue,” Soto said.  “It’s starting to pump back up.”  

Last year, the University Terrace Apartments were used for quarantine housing, however this year they are not an option, because they are under construction. 

The USD COVID-19 campus action plan explains that,  “residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are permitted to isolate in place. Residential Life will manage temporary alternative housing consideration for impacted roommates on an as needed basis (i.e. when roommates are immunocompromised or in other wellness related situations).”

“I think the university has kind of passed that,” Soto said, referring to quarantine housing. 

USD Senior Derek Hardy is also an RA in Maher who recently had COVID-19. He was also unsure of the protocol if a student with roommates tested positive. 

Hardy expressed that the majority of his professors were accommodating to his sickness. “One of my professors recorded their lectures. And then I know some of my classes I had the option to request to come in on Zoom,” he explained. 

USD has a plan for a “significant resurgence of COVID-19,” which includes requiring face masks and resuming contact tracing. These policies are listed on the USD COVID-19 campus action plan website. 

Although the uptick in COVID-19 cases brings up fears of returning to the lockdown conditions of the past years, the New York Times explained that “in interviews, experts offered reassurances that the country will not see a return to the nightmarish scenarios of previous years.”

While the immediate emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic is in the past, increasing cases may cause concern for some and individuals should take precautions as they see necessary.