AS 2022 MERCIFULLY ENDS, there’s a temptation to find something upbeat to write about — but once again another year ends with a reflection on the astonishing damage done by Covid and its variants.
THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO LOOK AT THIS HORRIFYING DISEASE: We’ll focus on the raw data and policy implications, which are still reverberating from China to the United Kingdom.
LATEST STATISTICS from the World Health Organization, as of yesterday, show that there have been 649,038,437 Covid and Covid-related cases globally and a staggering 6,645,812 deaths, according to the WHO. The U.S. recently topped 1 million fatalities, and now stands at 1,087,672, with about 400 deaths daily in the U.S. this month.
THE UNOFFICIAL TOTALS undoubtedly are higher, as some countries such as Russia and Brazil have under-reported the extent of this catastrophe. There would have been millions more casualties, experts believe, if vaccines hadn’t been developed and administrated quickly. And it now appears that still another wave is imminent, centered in China.
WHILE THESE STATISTICS ARE BEYOND DISPUTE, THE SECOND ENORMOUS IMPACT — policy failures and a lingering labor crisis — continue to evolve.
BOOKS WILL BE WRITTEN for decades to come about how the global economy reacted. The U.S. took the lead, administering trillions of dollars in government spending, which reduced the immediate economic pain, but this had a profound impact on labor, as millions of workers took a hard look at their lives and dropped out of traditional jobs. The generous government aid played a major role.
NOWHERE IS THIS LABOR MARKET UNRESET MORE DRAMATIC than in Great Britain, which is enduring an enormous upheaval as strikes grow in nursing, creating chaos in hospitals. The average nurse’s salary in the UK is about $43,000 a year. The government is proposing a 4.75% salary increase; the nurses union wants 19%.
THE U.K. FACES WALKOUTS by firefighters, baggage handlers, paramedics, driving examiners, immigration officers, bus drivers, construction workers, mail carriers and railway conductors. The public has been warned to avoid train travel during the Christmas holiday.
THIS IS NOT ENTIRELY CONNECTED TO COVID, of course, but after years of Covid deaths and sacrifices, nurses want — at the least — to keep pace with inflation.
THERE WAS NO TEMPLATE for dealing with the worst pandemic in a century; the mammoth infusion of cash in countries like the U.S. was too stimulative, helping to produce the worst inflation in decades, which caught the Federal Reserve off guard — a policy error that may require a self-inflicted recession.
WE WOULD LIKE TO CONCLUDE that the Covid crisis is about over, but less than 20% of Americans have received booster shots, with a vast majority concluding that any more vaccines are unnecessary. And like everything in America, the issue is fiercely polarizing.
IN MANY RESPECTS, THE U.S. AND CANADA ARE IN REASOMABLY GOOD SHAPE: If a recession comes by summer, it may be brief and shallow in both countries. That’s not the case in much of the world, as unrest persists and Covid, tragically, remains far from eradicated.
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OUR BEST WISHES to you and your families; we have much to be grateful for, including your kind support. We’ll take some time off time between now and New Year’s, writing only occasionally. In the meantime — Happy Holidays, Joyeux Noel et Bonne Annee.