Mapping the End of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The COVID-19 pandemic is gradually winding down as infection rates fall, immunity grows and experts show optimism about society's ability to manage the virus.
The Associated Press reported this week that roughly 73% of Americans are immune to the now-dominant Omicron COVID-19 variant, and said that number could rise to 80% by March. In an interview this week, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said the end of the coronavirus pandemic being soon "is a reasonable scenario." As many states lift some or all mask and vaccine mandates, the Biden administration and federal health officials are reportedly considering similar action and could soon relax masking guidance. And as new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations fell dramatically from their January peak over the past month, health experts across the spectrum have grown more optimistic about COVID-19 becoming more manageable and society returning to normal.
Right-rated voices tend to support ending public health restrictions, and many see the pandemic's end being determined more by partisan politics than legitimate science. Sources across the spectrum highlighted how the decision to end public health restrictions connects to the 2022 midterm elections and voters' readiness to move on from the pandemic. Some left-rated voices have grown more supportive of relaxing pandemic guidelines, while continuing to warn of potential consequences of returning to pre-pandemic normalcy too soon.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Moderna CEO sees potential end of coronavirus pandemic on horizon, though says it will never be eradicated
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel on Wednesday said the end of the coronavirus pandemic could be on the horizon.
“I think that is a reasonable scenario,” he told CNBC when asked whether he thought the pandemic was winding down. “There’s an 80% chance that as omicron evolves or SarsCov-2 virus evolves, we are going to see less and less virulent viruses.”
Moderna along with Pfizer pioneered the use of mRNA vaccines against the novel coronavirus, greatly reducing the severity of infection in those who got the jab.
Likewise, the chances of a new...
From the Left
Estimated 73% of US now immune to omicron: Is that enough?
The omicron wave that assaulted the United States this winter also bolstered its defenses, leaving enough protection against the coronavirus that future spikes will likely require much less — if any — dramatic disruption to society.
Millions of individual Americans’ immune systems now recognize the virus and are primed to fight it off if they encounter omicron, or even another variant.
About half of eligible Americans have received booster shots, there have been nearly 80 million confirmed infections overall and many more infections have never been reported. One influential model...
From the Right
The Midterms Will End the Pandemic
It takes a lot to make a libertarian look forward to the next election.
Like, say, two years of miserable government mandates ignored by some of the very people imposing them. Like watching over 70,000 maskless adults (and many celebrities) partying at a major sporting event in a city where children are required to wear medical-grade masks to school and keep them on while playing sports. Like imposing border controls on immigration and travel meant to stop the spread of COVID-19, and then keeping them in place (with no off-ramp) long after the virus is spreading here.
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