Year 3 of COVID-19: Harsh Truths, Brutal Realities, and Glimmers of Hope

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has now killed 1 of every 303 Americans. Whereas 4 vaccines are approved in the United States and masks are widely available, too few are fully immunized and most of the population has stopped wearing protective masks. The ongoing consequences of this include continued excess morbidity and mortality and the generation of immune-evading variants and subvariants, which in toto are injurious and ultimately self-defeating. Herein we briefly update and review COVID-19 vaccines, waning immunity, and new variants.