Tuesday, December 21, 2021
The unfortunate convergence
Three things are coming together at once, and it is not good:
1) The Omicron variant of the COVID virus has become, already, the dominant variety of COVID in the United States. Over 70% of new cases are Omicron, which is stunning. And because it is much more transmissible that earlier variants, it will spread much much faster now that it has a foothold.
2) It is almost Christmas. Which means people will travel, spreading the virus from one place to another. And that people will gather, which will further spread the virus.
3) People are tired of restrictions and deeply divided about mask-wearing and vaccinations. We are unlikely to mount anything like the effort to combat a much lesser threat in March of 2020. We lack the political will and personal sacrifice that would be necessary to fight the pandemic.
And then, there is this. When Donald Trump was elected, I wrote here that what I really feared was a new and unique crisis, because he lacked the leadership skills to bring the country together. COVID came and proved me right. I worry the same thing about Joe Biden, who has failed to even unite his own party. We will, too soon, find out.
