10 May 2024

Four Years On, the Mysteries of Covid Are Unravelin

Knvul Sheikh

When the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic in March 2020, nearly everything about the novel coronavirus was an open question: How was it spreading so quickly? How sick would it make people? Would a single bout buy you protection from future cases?

In the four years since, scientists have unraveled some of the biggest mysteries about Covid. We now know far more about how it spreads (no, standing six feet apart isn’t surefire protection), why it doesn’t seem to make children as sick as adults and what’s behind the strange symptoms it can cause, from brain fog to “Covid toe.” Here’s a look at what we’ve learned.

Why do people’s experiences with Covid vary so widely? And are superdodgers real?

By now, most Americans have had Covid at least once. While the majority of those infected have been hit with flulike symptoms, some have been hospitalized with serious respiratory issues, and others have had no symptoms at all.

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