EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in a series looking at what Lake County communities, agencies, and school districts experienced in 2025 and what they are facing in 2026.
Last year marked the fifth anniversary of the novel coronavirus outbreak, and, naturally, realities ranging from multiple tragedies and public service interruptions to mandates and quarantines were revisited and reevaluated during a transition arguably mislabeled as “the New Normal.”
For many people, including and especially health care professionals like Lake County General Health District Commissioner Ron Graham, that designation stands as a flippant classification and belies the profound cause-and-effect dimensions of a world that has been completely transformed.
A maddening milestone: COVID-19 today
“In early 2020, health experts informed us that a pandemic had started, and our lives changed fast,” Graham said. “We left busy offices and schools to stay home, and instead of seeing friends in person, we talked to them on screens.
“Today, things feel and look much different,” he added. “We are no longer in an emergency, and we do not have to stay locked inside. We have essentially learned to ‘live with the virus.’ Instead of following strict rules from the government, we now use our own common sense to stay safe. Simply put, our role has shifted from following emergency rules to making personal, practical choices.”
The pandemic in stages
To assess the changes, the health district reviewed three segments over the past five years.
2020: The Early Days — Fear and Working Together
At first, Graham noted, most people were justifiably scared but wanted to help.
“We saw sad news about hospitals being full, so we all tried to ‘flatten the curve,’ and wore masks, stayed six feet apart, and even washed our groceries….we felt like we were all on the same team,” he said. “We hoped that if we followed the rules for a few weeks, the virus would just go away.”
2021-2023: The Middle Years — Getting Tired and Arguing
As time went on, people became weary of the pandemic.
Although new vaccines were developed rapidly, which Graham called “great news,” various arguments, both personal and political, also emerged.
“People started to disagree about the rules,” he added. “Families fought over whether it was safe to visit, and businesses struggled. We started to realize that the virus was here to stay, and we had to find a long-term plan.”
2024-2025: Being Practical
“Now, the panic is over,” Graham emphasized. “We don’t think about COVID-19 every single second. We treat it more like the flu. Most people choose for themselves whether to wear a mask on a bus or at the store. We look at our own health and decide what feels safe for us.”
Staying healthy, living with the virus
The district emphasizes that vaccines remain the most effective tool in the fight against COVID.
“Even though people can still catch the virus after a shot, the vaccine does a great job of keeping you out of the hospital,” Graham said. “For most people, the vaccine turns a scary illness into something that feels like a bad cold. For older people or those who are already sick, boosters are still very important.
“In 2025, the science behind mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) and viral vector platforms has been monitored more closely than perhaps any medical intervention in history,” he added, noting that, for the general population, vaccines have turned potentially life-threatening events into manageable respiratory illnesses.”
Graham stated that for high-risk individuals — those with respiratory conditions, autoimmune disorders or the elderly — consulting a health care provider about boosters remains a life-saving practice.
“We used to try to have ‘zero cases,’ but now we know that is not possible,” he continued. “COVID-19 is now like the common cold — it is always around. Our main goal now is to protect the people who are most likely to get very sick, like people in nursing homes.
“We have better medicines now to help them if they do get a cough or fever.”
Better habits
The district would like to remind residents of some common-sense practices that COVID has reinforced:
• Washing hands: We wash our hands more frequently now, which helps to prevent the spread of various germs
• Staying home: If you are feeling unwell, it’s important to stay home from work; people no longer feel the need to “tough it out” at the office
• Cleaner air: Many buildings have improved ventilation systems with better fans and filters to ensure the air is fresh and clean
“The last five years taught us how to be strong,” Graham said. “We have better ways to test for the virus and track new versions of it. Many people even check virus levels in their town before planning a big party. We are also much more aware of our health and its impact on others than we used to be in the past. This also means we are better prepared for the future.
“We have learned how to bounce back….we know more now, and we understand that our choices help keep our neighbors safe too.”
Additional information
From the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 until December 2025, Ohio’s management of COVID data evolved from a crisis-response model to a routine public health surveillance system.
By last year, Graham added, the virus was officially classified as an “endemic disease,” with case definitions and reporting frequencies significantly streamlined.
“As of late 2025, the Ohio Department of Health transitioned to monitoring long-term trends and severe outcomes rather than individual daily cases.”
From 2020 to 2025, total cases, about 3,945,000, included over 158,800 hospitalizations and 45,000 deaths, according to the ODH Coronavirus Dashboard and the Centers for Disease Control National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.
Vaccination rates remained between 65 and 70 percent, reflecting the completion of primary series shots and booster vaccinations.
Lake County generally followed the state’s trends, often maintaining “Low” to “Medium” community levels during the 2024-2025 endemic phase, with 63,000 total cases and 830 deaths.
By 2024, approximately 71 percent of residents had received at least one vaccine dose, while around 19 percent received the updated vaccines for the 2024/2025 season.
ODH moved from daily dashboard updates to weekly (Thursdays) as case counts became less representative due to at-home testing. Additionally, the department required labs to report all results, negative and positive, to accurately calculate “percent positivity.”
Building on the district’s initial overview, data from 2024 through 2025 indicate a “significant transition,” as COVID moved from being a “notifiable” emergency to a condition integrated into broader respiratory virus surveillance, Graham noted.
“By December 2025, vaccination for COVID in Ohio followed the pattern of an annual respiratory shot, similar to the flu,” he added. “Data shows a clear distinction between the ‘cumulative’ rates, those who have received a shot since 2020, and the ‘seasonal’ rates, those keeping up with 2024–2025 formulations.
“Lake County consistently outperformed the Ohio state average in both initial series completion and the uptake of the most recent annual boosters.”
Looking Forward
The district emphasized that the goal isn’t to “beat” COVID directly, but rather to live with it safely, as has been the case with managing past viruses.
“By keeping up with shots and staying home when we are sick, we can keep the world open and busy,” Graham said. “Post-pandemic life isn’t about rules — it’s about the lessons we have learned to stay safe and happy.”
link