Content warning: this article discusses ableism and mass death.

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the lives of every human being for over two years. People are tired of restrictions, tired of fear and tired of putting their lives on hold for a virus that keeps spreading and mutating, especially as stubborn holdouts refuse to get vaccinated. This sentiment is entirely justified; I am annoyed and frustrated by how much my college experience and my early 20s have been negatively impacted by the virus. What is not justified, however, is the idea that we should normalize living with the virus and return to business as usual because it seems that people are now more likely to get it than not. Though this idea has recently taken hold in much of the United States, its roots lie in corporate greed. While the average vaccinated and boostered individual will likely avoid hospitalization and death if they contract the virus, as shown in a Jan. 7 study from the CDC, those who are immunocompromised and disabled may not. The fact that their concerns are being pushed to the side for the sake of returning to the status quo is horrifying to me, yet unfortunately, unsurprising.