According to Raina MacIntyre, professor of global biosecurity at the University of New South Wales, COVID-19 will never become an endemic disease. Instead, it will always behave like a epidemic virus.
If Professor MacIntyre is correct, Americans could suffer financially over the next few years.
“COVID will not magically turn into an endemic malaria-like infection where levels remain constant for long periods of time,” MacIntyre said. CNBC.
“This will continue to cause epidemic waves, driven by declining vaccine immunity, new variants that evade vaccine protection, unvaccinated pockets, births and migrations. That’s why we need a continuous ‘vaccine-plus’ and ventilation strategy,” she continued, adding that “there will be more variants to come.”
CNBC also noted that Global Biosecurity, a group of researchers from the University of New South Wales, said the coronavirus will continue to “show the ascending and descending pattern of epidemic disease.”
“[Covid] will never be rampant,” the organization said. “It’s an epidemic disease and always will be. That means it will find unvaccinated or under-vaccinated people and spread quickly through those groups.
Americans need financial help
It is in this very disturbing context that millions of Americans continue their daily lives and try to make ends meet. But for many, they are still falling short.
While Congress has approved three stimulus checks since the start of the pandemic, Washington recently remained silent on the issue of additional checks.
The Biden administration and Congress have shown greater interest in passing the Build Back Better agenda, which would add to another year of the wildly popular child tax hike. credit. Many American parents view the tax credit as an unofficial fourth stimulus check.
Despite the silence coming out of Washington, ordinary Americans are not staying silent. There are currently seven stimulus check petitions in circulation, and they have collectively garnered more than five million signatures.
$2,000 recurring checks
The most popular Change.org petition was started by Denver restaurateur Stephanie Bonin.
“I call on Congress to support families with a $2,000 payment for adults and a $1,000 payment for children immediately, and to continue regular checks throughout the duration of the crisis,” it read. in the petition, which recently surpassed its goal of three million signatures.
“Otherwise, laid-off workers, furloughed workers, self-employed workers and workers on reduced hours will struggle to pay their rent or put food on the table. Our country is still in deep trouble,” the petition continues.
Although it may be unlikely, Americans have not given up hope of getting a fourth stimulus check.
Ethen Kim Lieser is a Washington State-based science and technology editor who has held positions at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow him or contact him on LinkedIn.
Picture: Reuters.
