Two and a half years ago, America was thrust into the first worrisome weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was March of 2020, and many bars were fighting with local government officials to stay open at least through Saint Patrick’s Day, hoping to get one last pop in business before some inevitable trouble rolled into town. Even the Irish punk band the Dropkick Murphy’s were forced to cancel their standard St. Patty’s show in favor of an online-only version – one of the first actual fan-less concerts of the pandemic.
But it only took us a few months to understand what was happening. The at-risk community remained well-protected at home, and working-class Americans who were otherwise healthy began clamoring to return to normalcy.
Then came the vaccines, which the experts suggested would “end” the pandemic (just like the “two-week lockdowns” that were going to “flatten the curve,” mind you).
Still, we suffered, with a new economic prejudice arriving as the vaccinated and non-vaccinated among us were thrust into two different castes within society.
We entered the “endemic” phase months ago, with health experts arguing that this would be as good as it gets to keeping COVID-19 under control.
Finally, President Joe Biden is ready to admit it: COVID is over.
President Biden said in a 60 Minutes interview Sunday that the COVID-19 pandemic is a thing of the past.
“The pandemic is over,” he said. “We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lot of work on it. But the pandemic is over. If you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape, and so I think it’s changing, and I think [the Detroit auto show resuming after three years] is a perfect example of it.”
Of course, there are tough questions about Biden’s handling of the pandemic’s end, particularly in economics.
The endemic itself should have spurred on a boom in overall prosperity for America, but instead, Biden’s fiscal policies continue to pump inflation to levels that the nation hasn’t seen in 40 years.
Cross-Posted with Flag and Cross
