From the time COVID-19 started spreading in late 2019 through the few years we collectively remember as "the pandemic," the novel coronavirus killed millions, sickened many more and dramatically changed life as we know it.
By mid-2023, Washington state had 15,972 COVID deaths, while Idaho had 5,513, according to data compiled by USAfacts.org. According to the data set, here were the Inland Northwest COVID death tolls by county: Spokane: 1,666; Stevens: 191; Pend Oreille: 49; Ferry: 35; Whitman: 98; Kootenai: 686; Bonner: 205; Boundary: 70; Benewah: 47; Shoshone: 82; Latah: 62; and Nez Perce: 163.
The pandemic turned into an endemic, and COVID vaccines are now seasonally updated. It's recommended that people get regular boosters to build immunity against new variants, as people continue to be hospitalized and die, though thankfully at a much smaller rate than during the pandemic.
Still, the toll has been great. As of last month, the New York Times reported that more than 20 million people globally have died from COVID, including at least 1.2 million people in the United States. Just five years after our daily activities were first shuttered and officials asked everyone to do their part to slow the spread of the virus, it's important to examine the lessons from this time as we continue to recover.
— SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL, Section Editor
