Is the pandemic really over? – 24 hours |

SOURCE: The Washington Post

TRANSLATION: Innovator

USAin the “Washington Post” newspaper “Biden is right. The article titled “Pandemic is over” was published. The article was written by Leana Wend, Washington Post’s senior public health and health policy commentator.

USA President Joseph Biden unexpectedly said “The pandemic is over” in an interview with the “60 Minutes” program today, causing dissatisfaction in many parts of the country.

Representatives of the Republican Party began to accuse Biden of hypocrisy, who asked for additional funding from Congress to strengthen the fight against the infection of COVID-19.

And some leftists as proof that the pandemic is not over yet coronavirus they show the number of people who died from the disease as an example.

In fact, what was said does not mean a denial of Biden at all. President is right. Many factors indicate that the pandemic is indeed over.

But that doesn’t mean that coronavirus is no longer able to cause damage. Simply, coronavirus has become an endemic disease, which means that the emergency related to COVID is over.

The pandemic disrupts our daily life, the work we are used to, education It is a global event that fundamentally changes the system, worship, and communication style.

2020I was one of the public health experts who called people to “Stay at home” in March. We urged Americans to stay away from arcades, bars, restaurants, entertainment centers, and houses of worship.

As a result, employers sent workers home en masse. Schools switched to distance education.

When vaccines appeared, the situation changed. After being vaccinated, many people resumed their pre-pandemic activities. Some, like my family, waited for their young children to be vaccinated.

By now, the vast majority of Americans have either been vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19. Some have acquired immunity both through vaccinations and through exposure to the disease.

“Evusheld” and “Paxlovid” drugs, which are used as preventive measures against the virus, as well as the formation of antibodies against the infection, were able to reduce the severity of COVID and provide additional protection.

As a result, most Americans have closed the pandemic page and opened a new page, abandoning precautionary measures.

According to a survey conducted by Morning Consult in August, USAOnly 14% of adults consider the coronavirus a serious health risk. Only 28 percent of Americans still wear masks. 75 percent eat comfortably indoors.

For most of the country, the pandemic is almost over, as the infection no longer affects people’s daily lives. For them, COVID-19 has turned from a terrible, deadly disease into an ordinary flu virus.

Now this is one of the infections that people want to avoid. In order not to get infected, people will have to take the elementary measure of getting vaccinated once a year. Some may also take additional precautions, such as wearing a mask indoors. However, at the social level, the pandemic has already come to an end. This position was reflected in Biden’s statement.

Perhaps the pandemic is over from a scientific point of view. However, there is a difference of opinion among experts on this issue.

On the one hand, the coronavirus continues to cause illness and death. Currently, about 30,000 people in the United States have been hospitalized with the diagnosis of coronavirus. More than 400 people die from this disease every day in the country. The coronavirus infection can cause long-term complications in 1 in 5 people who contract it.

On the other hand, the number of deaths due to COVID-19 infection in the world is 2020fell to the lowest level since March. Actual losses may be lower. Some researchers claim that the death toll from COVID-19 is greatly exaggerated. They note that all patients are tested for COVID-19 at the hospital, and the detection of infection in a patient at any time should not be interpreted as the cause of death.

An infectious disease doctor from Boston, USA National In his statement to the Public Radio, he said that 70 percent of the patients registered with the diagnosis of COVID-19 in his hospital are people who were found to be infected with the coronavirus during a test at the clinic.