A new Covid wave is here. There’s a collective sigh that ripples through conversations these days one you can hear at the school gate, on the train, in the lift at work. It’s a tired phrase, uttered half-laughing and half-exhausted: “I just can’t with COVID anymore.”
And who could blame anyone?
The world has endured years of uncertainty, fear, and conflicting advice. The masks have been stuffed in drawers. The daily briefings are distant memories. Many of us have reached a point of emotional saturation what public health experts politely term pandemic fatigue.
It’s not denial. It’s exhaustion.
We’ve stopped looking over our shoulders. We want holidays, hugs, normality. Most of all, we want not to have to think about it anymore.
But here’s the catch: the virus didn’t get the memo.
While many of us are busy pretending COVID is a past chapter, it continues to write itself into daily life, sometimes quietly, sometimes brutally.
In 2025, COVID hasn’t vanished. The virus still mutates. It still infects. And it still disables.
The Silence of the Ongoing
It’s easy, in the absence of headlines, to assume the threat has faded. But behind that silence are NHS wards still under seasonal pressure. Virology labs quietly tracking new variants. Classrooms where children catch it for the second, third, or even fifth time.
Yes….. fifth.
We rarely talk about what repeat infections do to a developing immune system, or to a child’s long-term health. The idea of “getting it over with” has quietly given way to a normalised cycle of illness and recovery again and again.
Each exposure may not bring severe illness, but research suggests that repeated infections can increase the risk of complications over time. Not always immediately. Not always dramatically. But quietly, cumulatively, the way water wears away stone.
Living With (and After) the Virus
For people with Long COVID, and with a compromised immune system, the pandemic didn’t end when restrictions lifted. It didn’t end when the free tests disappeared or when “freedom day” was announced. It certainly didn’t end when their symptoms refused to go away.
They are still living through it.
Only now, they’re doing so quietly, while everyone else appears to be looking the other way.
It’s not about hysteria. It’s not about fear mongering. It’s about honesty, the kind that acknowledges that some of us are still living with damage long after the fever broke. Damage to lungs, to hearts, to memory. To livelihoods and relationships. To how a person sees themselves in the world.
And the most painful part? The erasure.
Being told, sometimes implicitly, sometimes explicitly, that if you’re still unwell, you must be exaggerating. Or malingering. Or simply unlucky.
Why Clean Air Isn’t Just About COVID
The good news is: mitigations exist. And some of them are astonishingly simple.
We could make the air in our schools, workplaces and public spaces safer to breathe not just for COVID, but for flu, RSV, pollution, and other airborne threats that chip away at our health, term after term.
We filter water. We wash our hands. Yet clean indoor air is still treated as optional — even though better ventilation and filtration are proven to reduce illness. Every time a child avoids an infection is a day gained for learning, for playing, for simply being well.
Clean air isn’t a COVID era panic response. It’s 21st-century common sense.
Reimagining the Conversation
No one wants to return to the height of lockdown. No one is suggesting we live in a permanent state of panic. But what if moving forward didn’t require forgetting?
What if we made space for nuance?
For accepting that someone wearing a mask on the bus isn’t being overcautious, they might be vulnerable, or caring for someone who is. That asking for clean indoor air isn’t paranoia, it’s public health. That taking COVID seriously doesn’t mean you’re stuck in 2020, it means you’re informed, and maybe still healing.
And what if we extended compassion not just to those in hospital, but to the millions quietly dealing with post-COVID symptoms day after day?
A Fatigue Worth Listening To
It’s entirely human to be tired of thinking about COVID.
We all want life to feel easier again.
But we can’t let collective boredom rewrite reality.
We can’t let those still affected by COVID slip out of sight simply because the narrative has shifted.
Tired of COVID? That’s understandable.
But pretending it’s over won’t make it so.
Long COVID is not over.
COVID hasn’t vanished.
And public health still matters.
Let’s not confuse exhaustion with the end. Let’s remember that compassion, clarity, and truth are needed now more than ever.
Disclaimer:
This article reflects personal opinion and lived experience. It is intended for informational and awareness-raising purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. For health-related concerns, always consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Long Covid Journey 