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 <div class="birdkit-body g-2025-02-10-covid-legacy g-dark-mode-incompatible" data-birdkit-hydrate="b45b05a0ae7b5b5a" data-preview-slug="2025-02-10-covid-legacy" id="g-2025-02-10-covid-legacy"> <div class="g-custom-topper svelte-hjwm42"><div class="g-visual svelte-hjwm42"><img alt="A set of illustrations encircled in orbs depict different life changes from the coronavirus pandemic, including a house, a couple embracing with their dog and a person wearing a mask." class="mobile svelte-hjwm42" src="https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2025-02-10-covid-legacy/_images/topper-mobile-top.png"/> <img alt="A set of illustrations encircled in orbs depict different life changes from the coronavirus pandemic, including a house, a couple embracing with their dog and a person wearing a mask." class="desktop svelte-hjwm42" src="https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2025-02-10-covid-legacy/_images/topper-desktop-top.png"/></div> <div class="g-header-container g-theme-news g-align-center g-style-extralight svelte-raivoh g-transparent-masthead" style="--g-header-text-wrap:balance"><header class="g-header svelte-raivoh"> <div class="g-heading-wrapper svelte-raivoh"><h1 class="g-heading svelte-yebxgq">How Covid Changed the Lives of These 29 Americans</h1></div> </header> </div> <div class="g-visual svelte-hjwm42"><img alt="A set of illustrations encircled in orbs depict different life changes from the coronavirus pandemic, including a house, a couple embracing with their dog and a person wearing a mask." class="mobile svelte-hjwm42" src="https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2025-02-10-covid-legacy/_images/topper-mobile-bottom.png"/> <img alt="A set of illustrations encircled in orbs depict different life changes from the coronavirus pandemic, including a house, a couple embracing with their dog and a person wearing a mask." class="desktop svelte-hjwm42" src="https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2025-02-10-covid-legacy/_images/topper-desktop-bottom.png"/></div> </div><div class="g-extended-byline-wrapper g-theme-news svelte-bx9w1d"> <div class="g-extended-byline-container svelte-bx9w1d g-wrapped"> <div class="g-byline-bio-wrapper"><p class="g-byline svelte-10de1fz"> <span class="g-last-byline svelte-10de1fz">By <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/jenna-russell">Jenna Russell</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/christina-morales">Christina Morales</a></span> <span class="g-byline-additional svelte-10de1fz">Illustrations by Lourenço Providência</span> </p> <time class="g-interactive-timestamp svelte-1xfuih8" datetime="2025-03-10T21:26:16-04:00">March 10, 2025 </time> </div></div> <div class="g-sharetools svelte-bx9w1d"><div class="g-sharetools-wrapper svelte-1czjxe4 g-align-left"><span class="svelte-1czjxe4" data-disable="" data-place-component="sharetools" data-render-hash="h--698ecad4" data-theme="dark-transparent"><div class="css-1sm67ns"><div aria-label="Social Media Share buttons, Save button, and Comments Panel with current 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.757-.757V6.05a.759.759 0 0 0-.868-.757Zm-7.196-1.625a2.665 2.665 0 0 1 1.01-1.736 2.24 2.24 0 0 1 1.574-.313 1.817 1.817 0 0 1 1.211.818 1.857 1.857 0 0 1 .202 1.453 2.2 2.2 0 0 1-.838 1.191h-3.431l.272-1.413ZM4.576 2.386a1.837 1.837 0 0 1 1.221-.817 2.23 2.23 0 0 1 1.565.313 2.624 2.624 0 0 1 1.01 1.736l.242 1.453H5.182a2.2 2.2 0 0 1-.838-1.19 1.857 1.857 0 0 1 .202-1.495h.03ZM1.548 6.424h7.54V9.39h-7.58l.04-2.967Zm1.181 4.128h6.359v7.287H2.729v-7.287Zm13.777 7.287h-6.348v-7.307h6.348v7.307Zm1.181-8.468h-7.53V6.404h7.53V9.37Z" fill="#121212" fill-rule="nonzero"></path></svg>Share full article</span></button></div></div></li><li class="css-68l2z5"><div class="css-vxcmzt"><div class="css-79elbk"><button aria-expanded="false" aria-label="More sharing options ..." class="css-1nurhyi actionbar-button" type="button"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-zd9juy" height="18" viewbox="0 0 23 18" width="23"><path d="M1.357 17.192a.663.663 0 0 1-.642-.81c1.82-7.955 6.197-12.068 12.331-11.68V1.127a.779.779 0 0 1 .42-.653.726.726 0 0 1 .78.106l8.195 6.986a.81.81 0 0 1 .253.557.82.82 0 0 1-.263.547l-8.196 6.955a.83.83 0 0 1-.779.105.747.747 0 0 1-.42-.663V11.29c-8.418-.905-10.974 5.177-11.08 5.45a.662.662 0 0 1-.6.453Zm10.048-7.26a16.37 16.37 0 0 1 2.314.158.81.81 0 0 1 .642.726v3.02l6.702-5.682-6.702-5.692v2.883a.767.767 0 0 1-.242.536.747.747 0 0 1-.547.18c-4.808-.537-8.364 1.85-10.448 6.922a11.679 11.679 0 0 1 8.28-3.093v.042Z" fill="#000000" fill-rule="nonzero"></path></svg></button></div></div></li><li class="css-68l2z5 save-button"><button aria-busy="false" aria-checked="false" aria-label="Save article for reading later..." aria-live="polite" class="css-1yhvmgx actionbar-button" data-testid="save-article-button" disabled="" role="switch" type="button"><svg class="css-eap6fy" height="18" viewbox="0 0 12 18" width="12"><g fill-rule="nonzero"><path class="saved-fill" d="M1.157 1.268v14.288l4.96-3.813 4.753 3.843V1.268z"></path><path class="saved-stroke" d="m12 18-5.9-4.756L0 17.98V1.014C0 .745.095.487.265.297.435.107.664 0 .904 0h10.192c.24 0 .47.107.64.297.169.19.264.448.264.717V18ZM1.157 1.268v14.288l4.96-3.813 4.753 3.843V1.268H1.158Z"></path></g></svg></button></li></ul></div></div></div></span> </div></div> </div><p class="g-text svelte-wbgwfj">Five years ago, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/health/coronavirus-pandemic-who.html">Covid took hold</a> and the world transformed almost overnight. As routines and rituals evaporated, often replaced by grief, fear and isolation, many of us wondered: When will things go back to normal? Could they ever? </p><p class="g-text svelte-wbgwfj">Today, for many, the coronavirus pandemic seems far away and foggy, while for others it’s as visceral as yesterday. We asked Americans what changes forged in that upheaval have lasted, and hundreds of you detailed the ways your lives assumed a different shape — for better and for worse. </p><p class="g-text svelte-wbgwfj">Here are some stories of those enduring changes. Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity. </p><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--left svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-1"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Donna Sintic, <span class="quote__demographic">72, Santa Monica, Calif.</span> </p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">It totally changed my perspective on holidays which I had controlled for too many years. Suddenly it was okay to eat pizza on the patio — spaced six feet apart — on Thanksgiving. My new resolution was to relinquish control and just let holidays be about gathering family and counting blessings.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--center svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-2"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Asher Steinberg, <span class="quote__demographic">33, New York City</span> </p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">Life is mostly back to normal for me, but my partner and I still test if we have respiratory symptoms, and generally ask our family to as well. <em> I still feel some uncertainty about what the right decisions are</em> ⁠— Should I put on a mask on this crowded subway car? Is that person just coughing because of allergies or should I move a couple seats over?</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--left svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-3"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Antoine Carter, <span class="quote__demographic">39, Milwaukee</span> <span class="quote__contrib svelte-1h4pn0r">He lost his stepdad and an aunt to Covid in 2020.</span></p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">It restructured our family dynamic, and I needed to step up and fill new roles. Then George Floyd happened, and <em>it gave me courage to stand up for myself,</em> and ask for what I deserved at my job. I went back to school in 2021 and finished my bachelor’s degree online. It forced me to think, and figure out what was next, and who the next me was.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--right svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-4"><div class="illustration svelte-1h4pn0r"><img alt="An abstract illustration of a person, colored in and with hair above the shoulders, surrounded by plants." src="https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2025-02-10-covid-legacy/_images/garden.png"/></div> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Carolina Acosta-Alzuru, <span class="quote__demographic">66, Athens, Ga.</span> </p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">Before the pandemic I had only one houseplant. Today I have more than 30. I still work a lot. I still wake up at 5 a.m. But now I meditate and take care of my plants before I do anything else.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--center svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-5"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Sarah Kelly, <span class="quote__demographic">35, Winston-Salem, N.C.</span> <span class="quote__contrib svelte-1h4pn0r">She was finishing graduate school at the time.</span></p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">My fellowship ended with no direction forward, I lost my temporary housing and didn’t qualify for unemployment as a student. With little savings, I moved back to my hometown for family and community support. <em>I live a much smaller life now,</em> in a town with no opportunities in my field. The upside to it all? I have a beautiful 5-month-old baby girl, who has brought me more joy than I knew was possible.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--large quote--center svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-6"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Miguel Guzman, <span class="quote__demographic">56, San Antonio</span> <span class="quote__contrib svelte-1h4pn0r">He nearly died after getting Covid in late 2020.</span></p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">The most important thing is being grateful to be alive, just being able to do the things that we love to do, to play mariachi music. Being in that dire situation, that’s the only thing that I wanted. I was thinking about my family — how they were going to manage if I didn’t live. But I’m still here.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--right svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-7"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Michelle Jaggi, <span class="quote__demographic">43, Erie, Pa.</span> </p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r"><em>Masks became so divisive, and I didn’t expect that.</em> A lot of the concrete connections with people are eroded when you’re not participating in the typical activities, when going out to lunch is replaced by texts and calls. It leads to hurt feelings on both sides. I have friends who have said, “Things don’t have to be this way,” but my family feels, for our safety, that it does need to be this way. Those friendships have changed.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--left svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-8"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Lynn Truong, <span class="quote__demographic">36, Las Vegas</span> </p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">My favorite thing I learned was how to love and appreciate my face with no makeup on. Pre-pandemic, I would put on makeup just to check the mail.</h3></div> </div><div class="g-paid svelte-1vs5joy"><div class="place-ad" data-position="mid1" data-size-key="default" id="mid1"></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--right svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-9"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Kesha Coward, <span class="quote__demographic">47, Richmond, Va.</span> <span class="quote__contrib svelte-1h4pn0r">She has multiple sclerosis, and lost her job in April 2022.</span></p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">I had never been unemployed and I had to lean on my savings. I have M.S., and I didn’t have health insurance for about a year, so I didn’t have my medication. I was able to find a new job, with insurance, but I could not work remotely. I did get Covid, and it impacted my health — I have had a heart monitor installed. I was really going through it, and I had to push myself. <em>I told myself, this can’t be the end of everything.</em></h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--left svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-10"><div class="illustration svelte-1h4pn0r"><img alt="An illustration of a couple, seen in profile with the front of their faces pressed together, look at each other and hug each other. A colored-in illustration of a dog with floppy ears and a long tail, also seen in profile, stands on their shoulders." src="https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2025-02-10-covid-legacy/_images/pup.png"/></div> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> James P. Burns, <span class="quote__demographic">72, New York City</span> </p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">My wife and I had always wanted a dog, but had hesitated because of time constraints. But with the uncertain future, a dog made perfect sense. Kiki will be 5 in April.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--right svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-11"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Constance Kreemer, <span class="quote__demographic">75, Santa Cruz, Calif.</span> <span class="quote__contrib svelte-1h4pn0r">She is a professional dancer and has taught yoga for decades.</span></p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">I believe my body is my temple. <em>I became a pariah</em> during the pandemic because I wasn’t willing to be vaccinated. I had friends who wouldn’t hug me or get in a car with me. I had people tell me I must be a Republican, when I am very, very liberal. There was so much fear instilled in everyone. The lasting change for me was to know who my people were.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--large quote--left svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-12"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Rosanne Zoccoli, <span class="quote__demographic">72, New York City</span> </p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">I do wish that more investment be made into this type of long Covid. It is, incorrectly, not considered dangerous. But I can’t smell gas or smoke.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--center svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-13"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Paige Woodard, <span class="quote__demographic">21, Northampton, Mass.</span> </p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">It was the most drastic weight gain I had ever had in my life. And I think I didn’t notice it for a while, in part because <em>I was living in, like, sweatpants and pajama pants,</em> and I didn’t really have to go anywhere. And that weight has stayed on.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--left svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-14"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Jacqueline Child, <span class="quote__demographic">30, Denver</span> <span class="quote__contrib svelte-1h4pn0r">She started a dating app with her sister for disabled and chronically ill people.</span></p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">I was not outspoken about my disability, and now, interacting with this community every day, I have really normalized it for myself. I think for many non-disabled people, there’s a view that disability and intimacy don’t go together. That is something we want to change.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--center svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-15"><div class="illustration svelte-1h4pn0r"><img alt="A colored-in illustration of a picture of a couple, seen in profile, face away from each other. The picture is torn down the middle." src="https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2025-02-10-covid-legacy/_images/divorce.png"/></div> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Sydney Drell Reiner, <span class="quote__demographic">67, Hermosa Beach, Calif.</span> <span class="quote__contrib svelte-1h4pn0r">She was married for 27 years.</span></p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">“You look so much happier,” friends tell me now that we’re separated and finalizing the divorce. But what I think they’re really seeing is me — the person I used to be before this marriage. The person who made choices based on what I wanted, rather than what I believed was required of me. Covid stripped away the distractions and revealed a truth I’d been avoiding. And for that, strangely enough, I am endlessly grateful.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--right svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-16"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Tarit Tanjasiri, <span class="quote__demographic">61, Irvine, Calif.</span> <span class="quote__contrib svelte-1h4pn0r">His cafe and bakery had 70 employees in 2020.</span></p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">We were able to leverage our relationship with our vendors and at least keep our employees fed. I know that <em>they were there at the hardest times</em> volunteering to come and clean the bakery for free. We’re able to now really make more investments to offer everyone health insurance, retirement plans.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--large quote--center svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-17"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Michele Rabkin, <span class="quote__demographic">61, Oakland, Calif.</span> </p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">Trying to keep our spirits up, me, my husband and a few friends decided we would get together on Zoom to chat, then go watch a movie and come back on Zoom afterwards to talk about it. We’ve watched 175 movies together so far.</h3></div> </div><div class="g-paid svelte-1vs5joy"><div class="place-ad" data-position="mid2" data-size-key="default" id="mid2"></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--center svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-18"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Shawn’te C.R. Harvell, <span class="quote__demographic">42, Elizabeth, N.J.</span> <span class="quote__contrib svelte-1h4pn0r">He is a funeral home manager.</span></p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">I wasn’t getting much sleep because we were so busy, and that was the first time I questioned my career choice. <em>Everything changed with how we culturally referenced and dealt with our dead,</em> to the point where we were going to the cemetery and it was just the funeral director and the deceased. You had to FaceTime the family. I did not get into this to just be picking up a body to dispose of it. It changed the way we do funerals now.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--right svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-19"><div class="illustration svelte-1h4pn0r"><img alt="An illustration of several people standing in a crowded elevator. One person in the middle front is colored in." src="https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2025-02-10-covid-legacy/_images/elevator.png"/></div> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Charles Huang, <span class="quote__demographic">22, Rosemount, Minn.</span> <span class="quote__contrib svelte-1h4pn0r">He has not gotten Covid and continues to mask.</span></p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">The isolation I still feel is painful. When I’m in a crowded elevator or on a fully booked flight, I try to act calm, but my mind frantically fixates on the possibility of contracting Covid, and puzzles over why post-pandemic life never came for me the same way it came for what looks like nearly everyone else.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--left svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-20"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Cindy Way, <span class="quote__demographic">67, State College, Pa.</span> </p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">When my evangelical church closed, <em>I felt a spiritual urge to explore other traditions.</em> I began to question everything I had been told, and went into a spiritual freefall from which I haven’t fully recovered. I saw my lifelong Republican views flip as well. I no longer felt threatened by those outside my bubble and began to attend an affirming church and support the rights of all the disenfranchised. It’s still very painful to acknowledge the pain and damage I may have caused others.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--center svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-21"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Carolyn Thomas, <span class="quote__demographic">60, Strasburg, Va.</span> </p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">My employer insisted that we get Covid shots or file for exemptions that, if approved, would lead to regular testing. I wouldn’t get the shots or tests, and so I had to retire early and give up my high salary for a lower pension than I’d expected. I’d voted for Democrats my entire life, and in 2024 I voted for Trump.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--right svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-22"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Malik Shelton, <span class="quote__demographic">33, Augusta, Ga.</span> </p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">A lot of nurses would tell you, <em>in some ways, we miss Covid — the way people treated you then.</em> The country was going through a hard time, and everyone was being hit, so you didn’t have so many situations with nurses being called names, or patients saying they don’t want anyone with an accent. Those things, now? They happen every day.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--center svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-23"><div class="illustration svelte-1h4pn0r"><img alt="An illustration of a parent and child, seen in profile. The child, colored in, is sitting on the lap of the parent, who is sitting on a chair and typing on a laptop in front of them. An overheard lamp is seen above the laptop." src="https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2025-02-10-covid-legacy/_images/wfh.png"/></div> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Kevin Nincehelser, <span class="quote__demographic">37, Topeka, Kan.</span> <span class="quote__contrib svelte-1h4pn0r">He and his wife had two more children during the pandemic.</span></p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">I have been close to them their whole lives because Covid allowed me to work from home and better assist with childcare. My wife and I converted our kids from public school to home-school. We now have all our groceries delivered. I am also a business owner and converted our business from 100 percent in the office to 100 percent work from home.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--left svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-24"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Dr. Mark Hamed, <span class="quote__demographic">45, Sandusky, Mich.</span> <span class="quote__contrib svelte-1h4pn0r">He is a local public health official.</span></p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r"><em>It taught me to get out of my silo and listen to people with different opinions,</em> different politics and let them educate me. I met with these little old ladies, as they explained their fears about vaccines and autism. They were so scared for their grandchildren. And after that conversation, they were hugging me, texting me. This community is all about family, so now I tell them, “We should probably get the flu vaccine, because we care about our older folks.” They all mean well, there is just so much misinformation.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--center svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-25"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Talia Falkenberg, <span class="quote__demographic">22, Atlanta</span> <span class="quote__contrib svelte-1h4pn0r">Her high school was still remote when she returned for her senior year in the fall of 2020.</span></p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">There were a lot of firsts I was missing out on. My peers and I were so focused on our own futures, and it made us zoom out and focus on the big picture. <em>I don’t sweat the small stuff anymore, and I don’t feel as angry.</em> I give a little more grace, now, to the administrators who made that decision.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--large quote--center svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-26"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Judith Liskin-Gasparro, <span class="quote__demographic">78, Iowa City</span> </p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">An informal Yiddish study group started up over Zoom. Although Yiddish was the native language of all of my (immigrant) grandparents, I had learned no Yiddish as a child. I thought the group might be a nice distraction. To my surprise, I fell in love with Yiddish.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--center svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-27"><div class="illustration svelte-1h4pn0r"><img alt="An illustration of a body of water sits in front of a mountain range and two people walking toward it. One points at the water. Two towels are behind the people." src="https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2025-02-10-covid-legacy/_images/lake.png"/></div> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Stephanie Woerfel, <span class="quote__demographic">72, Everett, Wash.</span> </p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">My sister and I were avid pool swimmers. We live 10 minutes away from Puget Sound. One day we saw a woman in a bikini coming out of the water onto the beach. The next week my sister and I took the plunge. We swim twice a week in the Sound rain or shine, snow or wind.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--right svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-28"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Asia Santos, <span class="quote__demographic">39, San Diego</span> <span class="quote__contrib svelte-1h4pn0r">She volunteered to travel as a nurse to New York City in April 2020.</span></p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">You were faced with these huge questions every day: <em>What is a good death? What is a bad death?</em> My thing was, no one is allowed to die alone. It was the only way I could get up the next day. You can make trauma work negatively for you, or positively.</h3></div> </div><div class="quote__container svelte-1h4pn0r"><div class="quote quote--small quote--center svelte-1h4pn0r" id="quote-29"> <p class="quote__attribution svelte-1h4pn0r"> Mei Davis, <span class="quote__demographic">60, Pensacola, Fla.</span> <span class="quote__contrib svelte-1h4pn0r">She has not fully regained her sense of taste and smell after getting Covid in 2021.</span></p> <h3 class="quote__text svelte-1h4pn0r">Life almost becomes muted. I lived to travel, and the first thing I always did was look up the best restaurant wherever I was. I still do that, because <em>you don’t want to give up on these things,</em> and you hope someday they might come sliding back.</h3></div> </div> <cript> { __sveltekit_16p0hxv = { base: new URL(".", location).pathname.slice(0, -1) }; const element = document.currentScript.parentElement.dataset.birdkitHydrate ? document.currentScript.parentElement : document.querySelector('[data-birdkit-hydrate="b45b05a0ae7b5b5a"]'); Promise.all([ import("https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2025-02-10-covid-legacy/8fb30024-21cc-4ca8-a869-ac42d3443576/_assets/_app/immutable/entry/start.oxsHjIZc.js"), import("https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2025-02-10-covid-legacy/8fb30024-21cc-4ca8-a869-ac42d3443576/_assets/_app/immutable/entry/app.BBjceT3y.js") ]).then(([kit, app]) => { kit.start(app, element, { node_ids: [0, 2], data: [null,{"type":"data","data":{body:[{type:"custom-topper",value:{header:{sharetools:{show:false,theme:"light-filled"},style:"extralight",align:"center",textWrap:"balance",hideBylineAndTimestamp:true,headline:"How Covid Changed the Lives of These 29 Americans",leadin:"",bylines:[{prefix:"By",creatorSnapshots:[{displayName:"Jenna Russell",bioUrl:"https://www.nytimes.com/by/jenna-russell",slug:"jenna-russell"},{displayName:"Christina Morales",bioUrl:"https://www.nytimes.com/by/christina-morales",slug:"christina-morales"}]}],slugs:["by/jenna-russell","by/christina-morales"],firstPublished:"March 10, 2025",firstPublishedTimestamp:"2025-03-10T21:26:16-04:00",lastModified:"March 10, 2025",lastModifiedTimestamp:"2025-03-10T21:40:26-04:00",updatedText:"",language:"en",translations:[],transparentMasthead:true},alt_text:"A set of illustrations encircled in orbs depict different life changes from the coronavirus pandemic, including a house, a couple embracing with their dog and a person wearing a mask."}},{type:"extendedbyline",value:{customByline:"By \u003Ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/by/jenna-russell\">Jenna Russell\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/by/christina-morales\">Christina Morales\u003C/a>",additionalByline:"Illustrations by Lourenço Providência","#bio":"",sharetools:{show:true,position:"belowByline",theme:"dark-transparent"},headline:"How Covid Changed the Lives of These 29 Americans",leadin:"",bylines:[{prefix:"By",creatorSnapshots:[{displayName:"Jenna Russell",bioUrl:"https://www.nytimes.com/by/jenna-russell",slug:"jenna-russell"},{displayName:"Christina Morales",bioUrl:"https://www.nytimes.com/by/christina-morales",slug:"christina-morales"}]}],slugs:["by/jenna-russell","by/christina-morales"],firstPublished:"March 10, 2025",firstPublishedTimestamp:"2025-03-10T21:26:16-04:00",lastModified:"March 10, 2025",lastModifiedTimestamp:"2025-03-10T21:40:26-04:00",updatedText:"",language:"en",translations:[],hideBylineAndTimestamp:true,transparentMasthead:true,headshots:[[{bioUrl:"https://www.nytimes.com/by/jenna-russell",displayName:"Jenna Russell",promotionalMedia:{crops:[{renditions:[{url:"https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/11/17/reader-center/author-jenna-russell/author-jenna-russell-thumbLarge.png"}]}]}}],[{bioUrl:"https://www.nytimes.com/by/christina-morales",displayName:"Christina Morales",promotionalMedia:{crops:[{renditions:[{url:"https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/05/27/reader-center/author-christina-morales/author-christina-morales-thumbLarge-v3.png"}]}]}}]]}},{type:"text",value:"Five years ago, \u003Ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/health/coronavirus-pandemic-who.html\">Covid took hold\u003C/a> and the world transformed almost overnight. As routines and rituals evaporated, often replaced by grief, fear and isolation, many of us wondered: When will things go back to normal? Could they ever?"},{type:"text",value:"Today, for many, the coronavirus pandemic seems far away and foggy, while for others it’s as visceral as yesterday. We asked Americans what changes forged in that upheaval have lasted, and hundreds of you detailed the ways your lives assumed a different shape — for better and for worse."},{type:"text",value:"Here are some stories of those enduring changes. Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity."},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-1",text:"It totally changed my perspective on holidays which I had controlled for too many years. Suddenly it was okay to eat pizza on the patio — spaced six feet apart — on Thanksgiving. My new resolution was to relinquish control and just let holidays be about gathering family and counting blessings.",attribution:"Donna Sintic",demographic:"72, Santa Monica, Calif.",align:"left"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-2",text:"Life is mostly back to normal for me, but my partner and I still test if we have respiratory symptoms, and generally ask our family to as well. \u003Cem> I still feel some uncertainty about what the right decisions are\u003C/em> ⁠— Should I put on a mask on this crowded subway car? Is that person just coughing because of allergies or should I move a couple seats over?",attribution:"Asher Steinberg",demographic:"33, New York City",align:"center"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-3",text:"It restructured our family dynamic, and I needed to step up and fill new roles. Then George Floyd happened, and \u003Cem>it gave me courage to stand up for myself,\u003C/em> and ask for what I deserved at my job. I went back to school in 2021 and finished my bachelor’s degree online. It forced me to think, and figure out what was next, and who the next me was.",attribution:"Antoine Carter",demographic:"39, Milwaukee",contrib_line:"He lost his stepdad and an aunt to Covid in 2020.",align:"left"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-4",text:"Before the pandemic I had only one houseplant. Today I have more than 30. I still work a lot. I still wake up at 5 a.m. But now I meditate and take care of my plants before I do anything else.",attribution:"Carolina Acosta-Alzuru",demographic:"66, Athens, Ga.",align:"right",illo:"garden",alt_text:"An abstract illustration of a person, colored in and with hair above the shoulders, surrounded by plants."}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-5",text:"My fellowship ended with no direction forward, I lost my temporary housing and didn’t qualify for unemployment as a student. With little savings, I moved back to my hometown for family and community support. \u003Cem>I live a much smaller life now,\u003C/em> in a town with no opportunities in my field. The upside to it all? I have a beautiful 5-month-old baby girl, who has brought me more joy than I knew was possible.",attribution:"Sarah Kelly",demographic:"35, Winston-Salem, N.C.",contrib_line:"She was finishing graduate school at the time.",align:"center"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-6",text:"The most important thing is being grateful to be alive, just being able to do the things that we love to do, to play mariachi music. Being in that dire situation, that’s the only thing that I wanted. I was thinking about my family — how they were going to manage if I didn’t live. But I’m still here.",attribution:"Miguel Guzman",demographic:"56, San Antonio",contrib_line:"He nearly died after getting Covid in late 2020.",align:"center",type_size:"large"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-7",text:"\u003Cem>Masks became so divisive, and I didn’t expect that.\u003C/em> A lot of the concrete connections with people are eroded when you’re not participating in the typical activities, when going out to lunch is replaced by texts and calls. It leads to hurt feelings on both sides. I have friends who have said, “Things don’t have to be this way,” but my family feels, for our safety, that it does need to be this way. Those friendships have changed.",attribution:"Michelle Jaggi",demographic:"43, Erie, Pa.",align:"right"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-8",text:"My favorite thing I learned was how to love and appreciate my face with no makeup on. Pre-pandemic, I would put on makeup just to check the mail.",attribution:"Lynn Truong",demographic:"36, Las Vegas",align:"left"}},{type:"ad",value:{id:1,size:void 0}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-9",text:"I had never been unemployed and I had to lean on my savings. I have M.S., and I didn’t have health insurance for about a year, so I didn’t have my medication. I was able to find a new job, with insurance, but I could not work remotely. I did get Covid, and it impacted my health — I have had a heart monitor installed. I was really going through it, and I had to push myself. \u003Cem>I told myself, this can’t be the end of everything.\u003C/em>",attribution:"Kesha Coward",demographic:"47, Richmond, Va.",contrib_line:"She has multiple sclerosis, and lost her job in April 2022.",align:"right"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-10",text:"My wife and I had always wanted a dog, but had hesitated because of time constraints. But with the uncertain future, a dog made perfect sense. Kiki will be 5 in April.",attribution:"James P. Burns",demographic:"72, New York City",align:"left",illo:"pup",alt_text:"An illustration of a couple, seen in profile with the front of their faces pressed together, look at each other and hug each other. A colored-in illustration of a dog with floppy ears and a long tail, also seen in profile, stands on their shoulders."}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-11",text:"I believe my body is my temple. \u003Cem>I became a pariah\u003C/em> during the pandemic because I wasn’t willing to be vaccinated. I had friends who wouldn’t hug me or get in a car with me. I had people tell me I must be a Republican, when I am very, very liberal. There was so much fear instilled in everyone. The lasting change for me was to know who my people were.",attribution:"Constance Kreemer",demographic:"75, Santa Cruz, Calif.",contrib_line:"She is a professional dancer and has taught yoga for decades.",align:"right"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-12",text:"I do wish that more investment be made into this type of long Covid. It is, incorrectly, not considered dangerous. But I can’t smell gas or smoke.",attribution:"Rosanne Zoccoli",demographic:"72, New York City",align:"left",type_size:"large"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-13",text:"It was the most drastic weight gain I had ever had in my life. And I think I didn’t notice it for a while, in part because \u003Cem>I was living in, like, sweatpants and pajama pants,\u003C/em> and I didn’t really have to go anywhere. And that weight has stayed on.",attribution:"Paige Woodard",demographic:"21, Northampton, Mass.",align:"center"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-14",text:"I was not outspoken about my disability, and now, interacting with this community every day, I have really normalized it for myself. I think for many non-disabled people, there’s a view that disability and intimacy don’t go together. That is something we want to change.",attribution:"Jacqueline Child",demographic:"30, Denver",contrib_line:"She started a dating app with her sister for disabled and chronically ill people.",align:"left"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-15",text:"“You look so much happier,” friends tell me now that we’re separated and finalizing the divorce. But what I think they’re really seeing is me — the person I used to be before this marriage. The person who made choices based on what I wanted, rather than what I believed was required of me. Covid stripped away the distractions and revealed a truth I’d been avoiding. And for that, strangely enough, I am endlessly grateful.",attribution:"Sydney Drell Reiner",demographic:"67, Hermosa Beach, Calif.",contrib_line:"She was married for 27 years.",align:"center",illo:"divorce",alt_text:"A colored-in illustration of a picture of a couple, seen in profile, face away from each other. The picture is torn down the middle."}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-16",text:"We were able to leverage our relationship with our vendors and at least keep our employees fed. I know that \u003Cem>they were there at the hardest times\u003C/em> volunteering to come and clean the bakery for free. We’re able to now really make more investments to offer everyone health insurance, retirement plans.",attribution:"Tarit Tanjasiri",demographic:"61, Irvine, Calif.",contrib_line:"His cafe and bakery had 70 employees in 2020.",align:"right"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-17",text:"Trying to keep our spirits up, me, my husband and a few friends decided we would get together on Zoom to chat, then go watch a movie and come back on Zoom afterwards to talk about it. We’ve watched 175 movies together so far.",attribution:"Michele Rabkin",demographic:"61, Oakland, Calif.",align:"center",type_size:"large"}},{type:"ad",value:{id:2,size:void 0}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-18",text:"I wasn’t getting much sleep because we were so busy, and that was the first time I questioned my career choice. \u003Cem>Everything changed with how we culturally referenced and dealt with our dead,\u003C/em> to the point where we were going to the cemetery and it was just the funeral director and the deceased. You had to FaceTime the family. I did not get into this to just be picking up a body to dispose of it. It changed the way we do funerals now.",attribution:"Shawn’te C.R. Harvell",demographic:"42, Elizabeth, N.J.",contrib_line:"He is a funeral home manager.",align:"center"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-19",text:"The isolation I still feel is painful. When I’m in a crowded elevator or on a fully booked flight, I try to act calm, but my mind frantically fixates on the possibility of contracting Covid, and puzzles over why post-pandemic life never came for me the same way it came for what looks like nearly everyone else.",attribution:"Charles Huang",demographic:"22, Rosemount, Minn.",contrib_line:"He has not gotten Covid and continues to mask.",align:"right",illo:"elevator",alt_text:"An illustration of several people standing in a crowded elevator. One person in the middle front is colored in."}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-20",text:"When my evangelical church closed, \u003Cem>I felt a spiritual urge to explore other traditions.\u003C/em> I began to question everything I had been told, and went into a spiritual freefall from which I haven’t fully recovered. I saw my lifelong Republican views flip as well. I no longer felt threatened by those outside my bubble and began to attend an affirming church and support the rights of all the disenfranchised. It’s still very painful to acknowledge the pain and damage I may have caused others.",attribution:"Cindy Way",demographic:"67, State College, Pa.",align:"left"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-21",text:"My employer insisted that we get Covid shots or file for exemptions that, if approved, would lead to regular testing. I wouldn’t get the shots or tests, and so I had to retire early and give up my high salary for a lower pension than I’d expected. I’d voted for Democrats my entire life, and in 2024 I voted for Trump.",attribution:"Carolyn Thomas",demographic:"60, Strasburg, Va.",align:"center"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-22",text:"A lot of nurses would tell you, \u003Cem>in some ways, we miss Covid — the way people treated you then.\u003C/em> The country was going through a hard time, and everyone was being hit, so you didn’t have so many situations with nurses being called names, or patients saying they don’t want anyone with an accent. Those things, now? They happen every day.",attribution:"Malik Shelton",demographic:"33, Augusta, Ga.",align:"right"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-23",text:"I have been close to them their whole lives because Covid allowed me to work from home and better assist with childcare. My wife and I converted our kids from public school to home-school. We now have all our groceries delivered. I am also a business owner and converted our business from 100 percent in the office to 100 percent work from home.",attribution:"Kevin Nincehelser",demographic:"37, Topeka, Kan.",contrib_line:"He and his wife had two more children during the pandemic.",align:"center",illo:"wfh",alt_text:"An illustration of a parent and child, seen in profile. The child, colored in, is sitting on the lap of the parent, who is sitting on a chair and typing on a laptop in front of them. An overheard lamp is seen above the laptop."}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-24",text:"\u003Cem>It taught me to get out of my silo and listen to people with different opinions,\u003C/em> different politics and let them educate me. I met with these little old ladies, as they explained their fears about vaccines and autism. They were so scared for their grandchildren. And after that conversation, they were hugging me, texting me. This community is all about family, so now I tell them, “We should probably get the flu vaccine, because we care about our older folks.” They all mean well, there is just so much misinformation.",attribution:"Dr. Mark Hamed",demographic:"45, Sandusky, Mich.",contrib_line:"He is a local public health official.",align:"left"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-25",text:"There were a lot of firsts I was missing out on. My peers and I were so focused on our own futures, and it made us zoom out and focus on the big picture. \u003Cem>I don’t sweat the small stuff anymore, and I don’t feel as angry.\u003C/em> I give a little more grace, now, to the administrators who made that decision.",attribution:"Talia Falkenberg",demographic:"22, Atlanta",contrib_line:"Her high school was still remote when she returned for her senior year in the fall of 2020.",align:"center"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-26",text:"An informal Yiddish study group started up over Zoom. Although Yiddish was the native language of all of my (immigrant) grandparents, I had learned no Yiddish as a child. I thought the group might be a nice distraction. To my surprise, I fell in love with Yiddish.",attribution:"Judith Liskin-Gasparro",demographic:"78, Iowa City",align:"center",type_size:"large"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-27",text:"My sister and I were avid pool swimmers. We live 10 minutes away from Puget Sound. One day we saw a woman in a bikini coming out of the water onto the beach. The next week my sister and I took the plunge. We swim twice a week in the Sound rain or shine, snow or wind.",attribution:"Stephanie Woerfel",demographic:"72, Everett, Wash.",align:"center",illo:"lake",alt_text:"An illustration of a body of water sits in front of a mountain range and two people walking toward it. One points at the water. Two towels are behind the people."}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-28",text:"You were faced with these huge questions every day: \u003Cem>What is a good death? What is a bad death?\u003C/em> My thing was, no one is allowed to die alone. It was the only way I could get up the next day. You can make trauma work negatively for you, or positively.",attribution:"Asia Santos",demographic:"39, San Diego",contrib_line:"She volunteered to travel as a nurse to New York City in April 2020.",align:"right"}},{type:"quote",value:{id:"quote-29",text:"Life almost becomes muted. I lived to travel, and the first thing I always did was look up the best restaurant wherever I was. I still do that, because \u003Cem>you don’t want to give up on these things,\u003C/em> and you hope someday they might come sliding back.",attribution:"Mei Davis",demographic:"60, Pensacola, Fla.",contrib_line:"She has not fully regained her sense of taste and smell after getting Covid in 2021.",align:"center"}}],theme:"news",sheets:{}},"uses":{"url":1}}], form: null, error: null, params: {}, route: {"id":"/index"} }); }); } </script> </div> <template class="hydration-helper" data-component="sharetools" data-render-hash="h--698ecad4"><div class="css-1sm67ns"><div aria-label="Social Media Share buttons, Save button, and Comments Panel with current comment count" class="css-1lt55iy" data-testid="share-tools" role="toolbar"><div></div><div class="interactive-sharetools css-pz4gob" data-testid="share-tools-menu"><ul class="css-1atjma0" data-testid="share-tools-list"><li class="css-atthsv"><div class="css-vxcmzt"><div class="css-79elbk"><button aria-expanded="false" aria-label="" class="css-1eeh360 actionbar-button" data-testid="gift-article-button" type="button"><span class="css-10d8k1f"><svg aria-hidden="true" height="19" viewbox="0 0 19 19" width="19"><path d="M18.04 5.293h-2.725c.286-.34.493-.74.606-1.17a2.875 2.875 0 0 0-.333-2.322A2.906 2.906 0 0 0 13.64.48a3.31 3.31 0 0 0-2.372.464 3.775 3.775 0 0 0-1.534 2.483l-.141.797-.142-.847A3.745 3.745 0 0 0 7.927.923 3.31 3.31 0 0 0 5.555.459 2.907 2.907 0 0 0 3.607 1.78a2.877 2.877 0 0 0-.333 2.321c.117.429.324.828.606 1.171H1.155a.767.767 0 0 0-.757.757v3.674a.767.767 0 0 0 .757.757h.424v7.53A1.01 1.01 0 0 0 2.588 19h14.13a1.01 1.01 0 0 0 1.01-.959v-7.56h.424a.758.758 0 0 0 .757-.757V6.05a.759.759 0 0 0-.868-.757Zm-7.196-1.625a2.665 2.665 0 0 1 1.01-1.736 2.24 2.24 0 0 1 1.574-.313 1.817 1.817 0 0 1 1.211.818 1.857 1.857 0 0 1 .202 1.453 2.2 2.2 0 0 1-.838 1.191h-3.431l.272-1.413ZM4.576 2.386a1.837 1.837 0 0 1 1.221-.817 2.23 2.23 0 0 1 1.565.313 2.624 2.624 0 0 1 1.01 1.736l.242 1.453H5.182a2.2 2.2 0 0 1-.838-1.19 1.857 1.857 0 0 1 .202-1.495h.03ZM1.548 6.424h7.54V9.39h-7.58l.04-2.967Zm1.181 4.128h6.359v7.287H2.729v-7.287Zm13.777 7.287h-6.348v-7.307h6.348v7.307Zm1.181-8.468h-7.53V6.404h7.53V9.37Z" fill="#121212" fill-rule="nonzero"></path></svg>Share full article</span></button></div></div></li><li class="css-68l2z5"><div class="css-vxcmzt"><div class="css-79elbk"><button aria-expanded="false" aria-label="More sharing options ..." class="css-1nurhyi actionbar-button" type="button"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-zd9juy" height="18" viewbox="0 0 23 18" width="23"><path d="M1.357 17.192a.663.663 0 0 1-.642-.81c1.82-7.955 6.197-12.068 12.331-11.68V1.127a.779.779 0 0 1 .42-.653.726.726 0 0 1 .78.106l8.195 6.986a.81.81 0 0 1 .253.557.82.82 0 0 1-.263.547l-8.196 6.955a.83.83 0 0 1-.779.105.747.747 0 0 1-.42-.663V11.29c-8.418-.905-10.974 5.177-11.08 5.45a.662.662 0 0 1-.6.453Zm10.048-7.26a16.37 16.37 0 0 1 2.314.158.81.81 0 0 1 .642.726v3.02l6.702-5.682-6.702-5.692v2.883a.767.767 0 0 1-.242.536.747.747 0 0 1-.547.18c-4.808-.537-8.364 1.85-10.448 6.922a11.679 11.679 0 0 1 8.28-3.093v.042Z" fill="#000000" fill-rule="nonzero"></path></svg></button></div></div></li><li class="css-68l2z5 save-button"><button aria-busy="false" aria-checked="false" aria-label="Save article for reading later..." aria-live="polite" class="css-1yhvmgx actionbar-button" data-testid="save-article-button" disabled="" role="switch" type="button"><svg class="css-eap6fy" height="18" viewbox="0 0 12 18" width="12"><g fill-rule="nonzero"><path class="saved-fill" d="M1.157 1.268v14.288l4.96-3.813 4.753 3.843V1.268z"></path><path class="saved-stroke" d="m12 18-5.9-4.756L0 17.98V1.014C0 .745.095.487.265.297.435.107.664 0 .904 0h10.192c.24 0 .47.107.64.297.169.19.264.448.264.717V18ZM1.157 1.268v14.288l4.96-3.813 4.753 3.843V1.268H1.158Z"></path></g></svg></button></li></ul></div></div></div></template></div>

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