Why People May Be Forgetting Their COVID Pandemic Memories

In her journalistic non-fiction article, ABC Health & Science Reporter Mary Kekatos explores “Why People May Be Forgetting Their COVID Pandemic Memories.” Framing the piece within the broader story of how societies metabolize collective trauma, Kekatos describes the shift toward a new stage of COVID-19, transitioning to an endemic state. This implies a consistent presence of the virus, often localized and more predictable, allowing people to adapt. But with this shift comes a psychological reorientation: traumatic memories begin to fade as a cognitive defense. Drawing on neuroscience, she explains how the brain marks “event boundaries” during crises, separating the early pandemic from a perceived post-pandemic period. This segmentation facilitates forgetting as a form of emotional regulation.

Kekatos contributes to the evolving narrative of COVID-19 by addressing not just what happened, but how it is remembered—or actively forgotten. She notes that the monotony of lockdown routines and digital life blurred distinctions between days, eroding the ability to recall discrete events. Yet, she warns against oversimplified closure. For many, the pandemic’s consequences remain immediate: grief, illness, and ongoing vulnerability. Even as the public story moves on, Kekatos calls for an acknowledgment of COVID-19’s persistent emotional and social imprints. Her article participates in the larger struggle over how the pandemic will be storied, remembered, and historicized.