Where does life in the U.S. stand six months into the pandemic?

It’s possible some people may have been infected earlier, but the first COVID-19 diagnoses in the U.S. occurred in late January. Since then, testing failures, partisan political debates, conspiracy theories and desperate searches for effective treatments have characterized the pandemic response in the United States. However, through all of the noise, scientists have learned quite a bit, according to William G. Powderly, MD, the Larry J. Shapiro Director of the Institute for Public Health and co-director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Powderly, also the J. William Campbell Professor of Medicine and director of the university’s Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences, is a veteran of the fight against HIV and AIDS. Many of the lessons learned during that epidemic can be applied to the battle against SARS-CoV-2, he said. But a big problem facing the U.S. in its response to the virus is that so many people seem to want simple answers, and simple answers are highly unlikely, he added. And Powderly said we can expect to live with upheaval from the virus until a vaccine is developed.

The podcast, “Show Me the Science,” is produced by the Office of Medical Public Affairs at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.