Human behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic and their consequences

COVID-19 accounted for about 1.1 million deaths in the United States, 365,000 in 2020 alone, and about 7 million worldwide. Due to underreporting, the actual global COVID-19-related deaths were likely between 15 and 30 million, with around 4 million in 2020. As devastating as these numbers were, without any behavioral changes—whether voluntary or mandated—deaths in the United States would have been about 8 million, and global deaths about 115 million, all within 2020. Behavioral measures included border closure, air filtration, surface disinfection, handwashing, wearing glasses/goggles, testing, contact tracing, and politically mandated nonpharmaceutical interventions such as mask-wearing, social distancing, school closures, and lockdowns. These measures significantly reduced mortality rates. Depending on the specific behaviors adopted and the extent of vaccination coverage, countries worldwide experienced widely varying outcomes—ranging from essentially no increase in deaths to overwhelming surges. Each country’s COVID-19 response was shaped by its leadership, making political decision-making a decisive factor in pandemic outcomes. Furthermore, recommended behaviors became heavily politicized and were implemented and adhered to unevenly. Each mandated behavior had significant negative consequences, such as reduced learning, diminished socialization, and increased incidences of measles and polio. In addition, maintaining safety required sacrificing quality of life. The most impactful measure was isolation, which contributed to increased stress, mental health problems, and delays in medical treatment—factors that led to higher mortality rates and deaths of despair. Moreover, a range of unusual human behaviors emerged. Misinformation spread rapidly, resulting in lower vaccination rates and reduced adherence to safe practices. Interestingly, even animal behaviors changed. Hence, this paper discusses behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic and their far-reaching consequences.