In October 2023, the United States witnessed a significant contrast in death tolls between COVID-19 and influenza, according to health care expert Gregory Travis. The official count recorded 5,305 deaths from COVID-19 compared to 145 deaths from influenza during the same month. Travis's analysis further revealed that over the past 12 months, there have been a total of 85,200 official COVID-19 deaths.

Travis's comprehensive evaluation of excess deaths caused by diseases during the pandemic indicated that a considerable number, mostly attributed to COVID-19, has resulted in over 1.3 million excess deaths across the country. This figure surpasses the official COVID-19 death count of approximately 1.15 million.

On a global scale, The Economist estimates the total number of excess deaths to be at 27.4 million, which is nearly four times the official figure of 7 million deaths. Shockingly, there are still 5,240 excess deaths reported each day worldwide.

Apart from the devastating loss of life, the pandemic has also given rise to an unprecedented scale of time-concentrated morbidity. The emergence of Long COVID, a condition characterized by persistent symptoms impacting various organs throughout the body, has showcased the extent of this health crisis. It is estimated that hundreds of millions of individuals are suffering from symptomatic Long COVID globally.

Immunologist Dr. Amy Proal, a renowned expert on Long COVID, recently reviewed scientific findings on viral persistence. These findings indicate that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can persist in multiple body tissues, including in asymptomatic infections. Dr. Proal expressed concerns over the policy response to the pandemic, highlighting the potential long-term consequences of viral persistence, reinfection, and the growing number of chronic symptoms.

In a shocking revelation, it has become apparent that the capitalist governments and corporate media outlets worldwide have deliberately obscured, downplayed, and distorted the true impact of the pandemic. Instead of providing accurate information, they have disseminated disinformation, leading the population into falsely believing that COVID-19 is harmless and the pandemic is over.

The Biden administration, in particular, has been at the forefront of this propaganda campaign. President Biden declared in September 2022 that "the pandemic is over," and in May 2023, he lifted the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration, dismantling pandemic surveillance systems across the US.

Contrary to these false claims, the pandemic is far from over. The decision to abandon mitigation measures and surrender to the virus not only perpetuates the ongoing crisis but also accelerates viral evolution, raising the risk of more deadly strains emerging in the future.

The response of the capitalist ruling class to the pandemic has been deemed a massive social crime. By prioritizing profits over public health measures, they have effectively declared war on the working class and society as a whole. This abandonment of fundamental public health practices threatens to overturn the hard-won social gains achieved through years of worker struggles.

Furthermore, the alliance between big business and dangerous pathogens, forged early in 2020, has emerged victorious. The powerful coalition, as exemplified by the New York Times, has disregarded public health in favor of private profit. The Times consistently criticized China's Zero-COVID elimination policy, which proved successful in saving millions of lives during the initial stages of the pandemic.

As the world grapples with the staggering number of COVID-19 deaths and the long-lasting implications of the virus, it becomes evident that a comprehensive and sustained approach is necessary to protect public health and mitigate the devastating impact of future pandemics.