Biden warned of the dangers ahead in his July 4 celebration for Covid Independence. He even named-checked the Delta variant. His tone was exultant overall.
The Fourth of July this year is a day to celebrate our coming out of the dark years. It was a year filled with isolation and pandemics, and a year of pain and fear. He spoke on the White House's South Lawn.
Now, the frustration caused by the resurgence of diseases and the messy withdrawal form Afghanistan seems to be a factor in Bidens once stable approval ratings. It also adds to Democrats concerns about how they will retain their small majority in the House or Senate after the 2022 congressional election.
There will be many setbacks and advances in the months ahead. Biden and the public healthcare system will face a political challenge in communicating a sense of progress, momentum and hope even without a clear turning point.
It was not a dream, the halcyon days in late spring and early summer were real. It was actually better. The number of cases was down and the deaths were down. Hospitals were back to normal. Even in areas with low vaccination rates the virus was retreating. Andy Slavitt, a former White House coronavirus advisor, stated that you could travel anywhere in the country without ever encountering someone who could infect.
Rochelle Walensky, Centers for Disease Control Director, was secondguessed by some for telling vaccinated people that they don't need to wear masks in May. Many of those who were not vaccinated had already removed their masks, if any. Critics claimed she misled the public and should have tied mask guidance closer to local vaccination rates. Walensky wanted to promote vaccination, and the lure of being able to remove masks was attractive for those who were hesitant.
But that moment of normality, that glimpse at normality, was only a temporary so far, so good truce to a mutating viral. Even though things were improving in the U.S., Delta, the variant that is now known, was still ravaging India sending thick plumes from the funeral pyres. It was soon here and it wasn't good enough.
The coronavirus is now considered to be an endemic virus by epidemiologists, which means it will continue to spread. However, even if the virus persists it does not mean that there will be a permanent pandemic. Vaccinations and natural infections will continue to build immunity over time. Scientists will find new ways to treat the disease. Covid could eventually become a fatal disease.
The challenge until then is to figure out how to coexist with it as safely and tenuously as possible.
Fighting the pandemic will be more of a tug-of-war than an epidemiological ground battle for the indefinite future. The coronavirus will keep us tugging. Sometimes we can be pulled into periods of relative calm, such as last June and July. Sometimes, it will pull us back into moments such as right now, not as hunkered down as before vaccines, but still making an exhausting chain risk assessments and adjustments as our quest to regain as much of our economic and emotional lives as possible.
Slavitt said that you make calculations in your brain every day. This is how you learn to manage problems. I can see my mother, I can go on this trip, but I can still do X,Y, and Z and live my life.
Assessing the unevenness around you is part of what we need to do. You will find hotspots all over the country. We need to keep track.
To know what I should pack when I travel to Buffalo by plane, I check the weather. In a telephone conversation, Slavitt said that he would also check the Covid situation in Buffalo. The nuance is that things will vary in each location. It could also change. It could happen in a matter weeks.
It will take vigilance to find a balance with the virus. Individuals will need to be vigilant and take vaccines. Masks and social distancing may also be used at times. Not every day, but only when the virus is present. As mandates increase and the recognition of Deltas danger increases, vaccine rates continue to rise. However, it is not enough.
People remain in denial," Celine Gounder (an infectious disease specialist at NYU and Bellevue Hospital) said. She advised the Biden transition team. Acceptance of the changes in our lives is key to a new normal.
