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Is the Pandemic Almost Over?

Some say yes, almost over.

What is happening with the pandemic in the United States? Some basic facts:

  • Infections are down 35 percent since Sept. 1
  • Vaccinations are at 77 percent with at least one shot (for those eligible)
  • Mandatory vaccinations by businesses are picking up steam
  • Kids are back in schools
  • More inside activities are picking up

People are wondering if the delta variant has run its course. There does appear to be a two-month wave of cases, but England defies that model, with an up and down caseload.

Here’s what I know. The pandemic has been throwing curveballs since its inception. The whole “mask on, mask off, mask on” dance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) illustrates that reacting to the statistics of the moment is not a good way to plan the future.

The rest of the world is mostly unvaccinated, therefore there is plenty of fodder for the virus to continue to mutate. As the delta variant showed, what happens in other parts of the world matters to us living here in North America.

Call me a pessimist, but the game is not yet over and the “fat lady virus has yet to sing” — again.
Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.