#191
Never-ending COVID-19 Pandemic as Groundhog Day Ad Infinitum

As the COVID-19 pandemic takes on new forms with the omicron and possibly other variants, a weariness pervades many communities and institutions, including those linked to religion. For some issues, religious institutions share common concerns and frustrations, including divisions on topics like wearing masks, while others are more distinctive to specific communities. An example of adaptations of rites to address COVID-19 risks and restrictions is reported in Lutheran parishes: Nordic churches see changes in baptism rituals. There are contradictory reports about more fundamental shifts in beliefs, with some surveys and anecdotes suggesting increases in faith, while others see declines in faith and trust. The prolonged crisis and its successive waves account for frustrations, protests, and the economic, social, political, and spiritual signs of frustration. A striking article title (from October) conveys some sense of the ennui: “My Church Doesn’t Know What to Do Anymore.”
 
Vaccinations, both low rates in many low-income countries, and hesitancy and resistance across many societies, remain a live concern. Pope Francis spoke directly to the issue on January 28, noting that the COVID-19 misinformation aggravates the pandemic. He praised a Catholic media group combating vaccine misinformation. "We can hardly fail to see that these days, in addition to the pandemic, an 'infodemic' is spreading: a distortion of reality based on fear, which in our global society leads to an explosion of commentary on falsified if not invented news." Pope Francis has consistently advocated for equitable distribution of vaccines, noting that "to be properly informed, to be helped to understand situations based on scientific data and not fake news, is a human right." Washington Post columnist Mike Gerson in frustration commented: “As we enter the third year of the coronavirus pandemic, it is the religious objections to routine vaccination that persist and perplex.”

Religious missions are affected by the pandemic in many ways. A group of missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were returning to their Pacific Island home were quarantined after many tested positive for COVID-19, despite following health precautions.