Keller: Here are some good things that came out of the COVID pandemic

CBS News

19-03-2025

The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller's, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global.
For many, the current spate of
five-year anniversary
reflections on the
COVID-19 pandemic
resurrect memories we'd just as soon forget. The panic shopping and chronic shortages, the
seemingly endless testing
and
masking
,
the shutdowns
,
isolation and loneliness
- and, of course, the
terrible death toll
.
But the pandemic left behind some positive changes that are still with us, including:
Before the pandemic, you had to be on
Beacon Hill
or at your local city or town hall to participate in important public meetings.
But the Massachusetts Legislature is poised to extend online access to many events via Zoom for another two years, continuing a widely applauded trend of giving more access to government meetings than ever existed before COVID-19.
The
stopgap funding bill
that just passed the U.S. Senate was controversial, but there was bipartisan agreement on a part of it extending the use of telehealth services, a
pandemic-era staple
that has proven to cut costs and improve healthcare access.
And then there's the staying power of the
working-from-home habit
.
It's a
nightmare for office-building owners
struggling with sky-high vacancy rates, but it's the gift that keeps on giving for the 73% of telecommuters who tell
Pew Research pollsters
the arrangement has done wonders for their work-life balance while not damaging their productivity. Among them, a record number of women are now working, with a notable increase among women with children under 5.
And the pandemic gave many entrepreneurs the extra time and cash they needed to spawn an unprecedented surge in new businesses, resulting in more than 7 million new jobs.
Our national trauma was a nightmare in so many ways, but it also helped
many dreams come true
.