Early in 2020, as the first massive waves of COVID-19 illnesses and deaths were sweeping the globe, we were told that the pandemic would continue to impact lives well after the illnesses and deaths slowed to a trickle, if not disappeared altogether.

Now, 3 ½ years, 6.9 million deaths and 768,000,000 COVID cases later, we can look at some of the ways the pandemic has affected our world, our nation, our state and our communities in terms other than sickness and death.

We’ve seen a rejuvenated “anti-vaxxer” movement that began when some Americans bristled at COVID vaccinations. It will take years for public confidence in vaccines to reach pre-COVID levels, if ever.

The pandemic continues to affect how we work as well. Data from a Forbes study showed that 12.7% of Americans now work exclusively from home or a remote location and 28.2% combine remote and in-person work. The reliance on technology that allowed adults to work remotely and school children to learn remotely has provided enormous incentive to extend high-speed internet services to every corner of the nation, no matter how isolated. The effects of the pandemic on world and national economic persists through inflation but in the U.S. there is cause for optimism that the economy may rebound with suffering a recession.

In an effort to drill down on the impacts of COVID to the state level, the non-profit, non-partisan National Conference on Citizenship, in partnership with Fair Count and the Southern Economic Advancement Project released its Pandemic To Prosperity: South report to measure the impacts of the pandemic on Southern states and their progress in meeting those challenges. It’s the third report generated by the group since January.

Among the Mississippi findings:

• Mississippi’s economy has recovered from the shock of the pandemic and the state now has 1.0% more jobs than it did in February 2020 before the pandemic hit.

• 33% of Mississippians who have ever had Covid also suffered from Long Covid symptoms.

• Only about 7% of Mississippians are up-to-date with Covid vaccines, the lowest rate in the nation.

• In Mississippi, 18% of the working-age population lacks health insurance. The state has not adopted Medicaid expansion, a key campaign issue  in the Governor’s race this November.

• Although efforts to expand Broadband are well under way, 19% of Mississippi households have no internet at home — not even a cellular data plan — compared to 10% of non-Southerners.

• 79% of Mississippi counties are news deserts (1 or fewer newspapers), meaning residents have less access to critical information.

• 28% of Mississippi children live in poverty, compared to 16% of children outside the South. Mississippi has passed a law that preempts localities from passing increased minimum wage ordinances.

• 18% of Mississippians reported their household went hungry in June.

• Despite gains made in voter turnout during the pandemic, Mississippi has enacted restrictive voting laws since 2021.

While not all of the above are directly related to the pandemic, it’s clear that Mississippi is making some progress in some areas, little progress in others and even regressed in some areas.

Policy can address many of these issues, which is why voters play such an important role in where we go from here. The party primaries come Tuesday with the general election to follow in November. The information found here and  the candidates’ positions on them, would be a good way to evaluate for whom you should cast your vote.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.

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