Pandemic Fatigue: What is it, and What Does it Mean for Public Health?

Written By: Cate Palmer

The World Health Organization defines pandemic fatigue as “demotivation to follow recommended protective behaviours.”[1] It happens when these behaviors become stressful and exhausting over time, corresponding with negative emotions like loneliness, sadness, anger, and fear.[2] There’s a lot that we can learn from this phenomenon to better prepare for future pandemics and assess current public health problems.

The Aftermath of COVID-19 

As of August 2024, COVID-19 has infected over 700 million people and caused over 7 million deaths.[3] It exposed health inequities, disrupted economies, and made everything from masks to vaccines into a political argument. While most experts would agree that COVID has reached the endemic stage since it is no longer putting disruptive, unexpected pressure on the healthcare system, this doesn’t mean that we aren’t still feeling its effects. [4] In October 2024, thirty percent of adults in the US said they had experienced a toll that they had not or only somewhat recovered from due to the pandemic.[2] Plus, we now have to live with the virus, and hundreds of people still die from it every week.[2] Pandemic fatigue is a result of negative associations with preventative measures such as masking and vaccinations, as well as the emotional toll of dealing with the most severe respiratory epidemic in the US since the 1918 flu pandemic.[2] 

Distrust of Vaccines is on the Rise 

Due to pandemic fatigue and the amplified message of anti-vaccine rhetoric, vaccine rates in many states have been dropping since 2020, in particular influenza vaccinations in children.[5] Healthcare providers are seeing increased distrust of vaccines, which is especially dangerous in a year with a particularly severe strain of flu.[6] Severity combined with low vaccination rates means more weekly flu hospitalizations in 2025 than any week since 2009.[6] It’s important that trust in vaccines is reestablished to keep hospitalization rates down, and this starts with trust between medical providers and their patients. Dr. Raj Naik is a pediatrician in Wisconsin, a state whose vaccination rate is only 34%, lowest they have seen in a decade.[7] He says that it has become increasingly common for a family to arrive at his office unwilling or uninterested in talking about vaccines. Naik stresses that seasonal flu and COVID-19 shots need to be treated as routine practices, and that he has been focused more on his relationship with patients since the pandemic, building trust with the hope that they’ll be more receptive to his recommendations.[7] 

Communication is Key: How to Address Pandemic Fatigue 

An important part of preventing pandemic fatigue is keeping the public involved. Misinformation and mistrust made fighting COVID excessively difficult, but being transparent helps increase scientists’ credibility and makes the public more engaged.[8] Additionally, the World Health Organization outlines specific actions that governments can take to reinvigorate the public to prevent COVID-19, which can also be applied to the prevention of other diseases. It stresses the importance of developing “guidance on living life while reducing risk,” avoiding constant changes, and understanding which measures may be unbearable in the long term. Making recommended behaviors easy and inexpensive is also important, as well as appealing to people rather than blaming or scaring them.[1]  

It is important that the public health community recognize pandemic fatigue, and tailor policies and interventions that are understanding of the stress and uncertainty that people have experienced because of the pandemic. Building trust and being intentional with communication across all sectors of health lays the foundation for reception to and investment in pandemic preparedness. By keeping these principles at heart, we can create a more united system of public health. 

References:

1. World Health Organization. Pandemic fatigue Reinvigorating the public to prevent COVID-19. 2020. https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/335820/WHO-EURO-2020-1160-40906-55390-eng.pdf 

2. Bartels M. COVID Pandemic Fatigue Has Left the U.S. Vulnerable to New Threats. Scientific American. Accessed April 24, 2025. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/five-years-after-the-covid-pandemic-began-fatigue-and-frustration-remain/ 

3. The next pandemic: not if, but when | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. September 12, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2025. https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/next-pandemic-not-if-but-when/ 

4. Is COVID-19 Still a Pandemic? | The Brink | Boston University. Accessed April 24, 2025. https://www.bu.edu/articles/2024/is-covid-19-still-a-pandemic/ 

5. Flu deaths may have surpassed COVID deaths nationwide for first time since start of pandemic, early CDC data suggests - CBS News. February 11, 2025. Accessed April 24, 2025. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/flu-deaths-surpass-covid-for-first-time-since-pandemic-started/ 

6. As flu cases break records this year, vaccine rates are declining, particularly for children and 65+ adults. UCLA. Accessed April 24, 2025. https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/vaccine-rates-decline-flu-cases-break-records-this-year 

7. Kirwan H. Vaccine fatigue is causing people to skip recommended shots, Wisconsin experts say. WPR. March 24, 2025. Accessed April 24, 2025. https://www.wpr.org/news/wisconsin-vaccine-fatigue-skip-recommended-shots 

8. The next pandemic: COVID-19 showed us how we can fight the next global outbreak. Accessed April 24, 2025. https://health.ucdavis.edu/news/headlines/the-next-pandemic-covid-19-showed-us-how-we-can-fight-the-next-global-outbreak/2025/02