ABSTRACT
This chapter will begin by highlighting the important distinction between SARS-CoV-2 as a virus and COVID-19 as a pandemic. It will also highlight potential reasons why this particular virus and the associated pandemic are receiving unprecedented attention. I will then discuss the tenuous reasons why this pandemic might contain some silver linings, further unpack a small portion of the reasons why this pandemic is inarguably a bad thing, and explore some of the as-yet unknowns related to the pandemic as it exists today. The chapter will conclude with some thoughts as to potential future impacts and possible directions as to where we, as a global community, can go from here.
