As a parent, I feel like I've been visiting hospitals after the endemic than I did during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the height of the pandemic, I only had to worry about COVID-19, but after the pandemic has passed, children with weak immunity are suffering from various viral diseases including colds, flu, and adenovirus. When my older daughter got sick, my younger one also got sick, and us parents were no exception. After going through a series of these vicious cycles, I pulled out my mask again and wondered whether I had removed my mask too soon.

With this increase in hospital visits, drug shortages are quite understandable. However, as a healthcare consumer, I don't understand the seriousness of it.