Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States had far-reaching consequences in the country that went beyond the spread of the disease itself and efforts to quarantine it, including political, cultural, and social implications.

Illnesses and deaths

A year into the pandemic, a half-million Americans (1 out of every 670 Americans) had died of COVID-19.

Many people were affected by grief and loss. By the time a half-million Americans had died, one-third of Americans participating in a survey said they personally knew someone who had died this way. (The figures may have been lower due to the types of people being surveyed.) One researcher concluded that, on average, nine close relatives survived to grieve each person who died of COVID-19. By February 2021, about 40,000 U.S. children under the age of 18 had lost at least one parent to the disease.

In addition to the loss of life, the disease can also cause long-term illness, the effects of which may be harder to calculate. Some COVID survivors are left with long-term symptoms such as fatigue, confusion, headache, stomachache, shortness of breath, and loss of sense of smell. Prolonged manifestations of the disease are informally called "long COVID" and the sufferers are called "long-haulers."

Lockdowns

To encourage residents to remain in their homes in order to help suppress the spread of COVID-19, most U.S. states (either state-wide or phased in on a county-by-county basis) began to impose "stay-at-home orders" from mid-March 2020 onward. These orders typically restricted any public "gatherings" and mandated the closure of entertainment and recreation venues (including bars, casinos, fitness facilities, theaters), dine-in restaurants (although take-out and delivery service could still be offered), and other "non-essential" retail businesses.