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Herd immunity was always our greatest asset for protecting vulnerable people, but public health failed to use it wisely. In March 2020, not long after Covid-19 was declared a global public health emergency, prominent experts predicted that the pandemic would eventually end via herd immunity. Infectious disease epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, who advised President Biden, opined in the Washington Post that even without a vaccine, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, would eventually “burn itself out as the spread of infection comes to confer a form of herd immunity.” The best strategy, he reasoned, was to “gradually build up immunity” by letting “those at low risk for serious disease continue to work” while higher-risk people sheltered and scientists developed treatments and, hopefully, vaccines. (David Robertson, 3/25)

As people abandon masks and gather in bigger groups, it’s important to remember that COVID-19 is still with us. A new form of the omicron variant called BA.2 is causing another surge, though on a much smaller scale than previous variants. BA.2 is spreading so fast that it’s expected to be the dominant form of the disease in Chicago by the end of this month. Fortunately, most Americans have ready access to vaccines that prevent the worst symptoms. These amazing pharmaceutical products, created in an incredibly short time, have saved millions of lives worldwide and enabled the country to get back to business. (3/24)

It has been over 26 months since COVID-19 entered our daily lives. In January 2021, the vaccine became available. We were among the fortunate to receive some of the first doses, but not before hundreds of thousands worldwide died and numerous variants emerged. The Center for Respite Care has been on the front lines. Our commitment to the health of our clients did not halt when the world shut down, and it has not stopped. My team of 18 people and I keep The Center going. (Laurel Nelson, 3/24)

Last week President Biden signed a new government spending bill into law. The roughly $22.5 billion for emergency funding for COVID-19 response efforts that the White House had requested was not included in the bill. That was removed after congressional Republicans pushed back on spending more on COVID relief, saying they needed to better understand how the money already allocated to those efforts has been spent thus far. The cutbacks will affect, among other programs, payments to treat and vaccinate people without insurance, as well as the purchase and shipment of monoclonal antibody treatments. As has been true throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the people likely to suffer most from these changes to COVID relief programs are communities of color, especially Latinos. (Arturo Vargas Bustamante, 3/25)