Analysis: How COVID-19 situation has changed during five years since the first case in America

COVID-19: It has been five years since the first case in America. What's it like today? Jan. 20, 2025, marks five years since the CDC reported the first laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19 on American soil. Sam Woodward USA TODAY

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COVID-19 doesn't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon despite advancements in vaccines against the virus.

“The virus is here and it’s here to stay. What has changed dramatically is the case severity,” Dr. Paul Sax, clinical director of infectious diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told USA TODAY.

In 2020, a telltale sign that you'd gotten COVID-19 was the unexpected lost of taste and smell, as well as a fever and cough. Today, the symptoms may resemble other common seasonal illnesses. ...