Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, a doctor warns mistrust in medicine remains

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - It has been five years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, a time that reshaped lives, disrupted careers and left lasting scars on communities.

Today, much has changed. The world is no longer in crisis mode, and COVID-19 deaths have dropped significantly. However, for some, the effects of the pandemic still linger—not just in memories, but in how they view modern medicine.

Dr. Michael Saag, a professor of medicine at UAB and an infectious disease expert, says that while treatments and vaccines have helped curb the virus’s impact, one challenge remains: mistrust in public health.

Saag says that while the world has moved forward, COVID-19 continues to claim lives—about 30,000 annually, primarily among older adults, the unvaccinated, and those with underlying health conditions.

The difference now? Fewer people see COVID-19 as an immediate threat, which he attributes to widespread immunity from previous infections, vaccinations, and improved treatments.

Still, misinformation about the virus and vaccines remains a concern.

Saag recalls his experience battling COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic.

“I was having nightly cytokine storms, which means chills, fevers, headaches, shortness of breath,” he said. “And there was nothing I could do besides aspirin or ibuprofen to control my symptoms.”

The rapid development of vaccines and treatments helped turn the tide, yet skepticism surrounding their effectiveness persists.

“Things are circulating as facts that are not true,” Saag said. “That the vaccine doesn’t work—it does work. The treatments don’t work—they do work. And what I fear at present is that mistrust has put us in an awful position should another pandemic happen next week, or next month, or next year.”

For many young adults, the pandemic hit at a pivotal time in their lives. College students struggled with virtual learning, and some, like Reginald Jones and Sophia Davis, found it so challenging that they left school altogether.

“I didn’t feel like I was learning,” Jones said. “I was kind of excited to get more hands-on, especially for the field I was studying. It just seemed like a waste of time. That kind of pushed me to go ahead and drop out.”

“I stopped going to classes just because I’m not a very good online learner,” Davis added. “So it just kind of changed the trajectory of my life in a way.”

Even those who didn’t face academic struggles found themselves reflecting on the impact of the pandemic.

“It was crazy to experience,” said Birmingham resident Kennedy Freeman. “Like, once I get older and have kids, I’ll be able to tell them that I lived through a pandemic.”

Yet, mistrust in the healthcare system still lingers for some.

“I don’t want to put nothing into me that may potentially harm me,” Freeman said.

“I didn’t feel like it would be a threat to me,” Davis added. “I won’t say I trusted it. I mean, I still got COVID a month after I got the vaccine so…”

While COVID-19 is no longer the crisis it once was, Saag says the lessons learned over the past five years should not be ignored.

He credits vaccines, treatments, and natural immunity for reducing severe cases and deaths. But he warns that public mistrust in science and medicine could have serious consequences if another health crisis emerges.

“What I fear at present is that mistrust has put us in an awful position should another pandemic happen next week, or next month, or next year.”

The world may have moved forward, but the conversation around COVID-19—and the way we respond to future public health challenges—is far from over.

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