138 Million Cases and Things are Looking Up in the US

Wow, the global coronavirus caseload has gone up again – this is in spite of vaccination efforts already in progress. One hundred and thirty eight million today! 

I’ve mentioned yesterday that the US has by far the most confirmed cases of Covid-19 – 32.07 million – with 577,000 deaths, another world high. 

But here, Covid vaccination is in full swing. About 36.8% of people there have received at least one Covid-19 shot. And about 22.7% of people are fully vaccinated. That leaves 21.6% of the shots distributed that haven't been used yet. 

And if you read local news reports, things seem to be looking up. 

One poll claims most Americans have weathered the coronavirus pandemic financially. That, however, does not take away the fact that 38 million say they are worse off now than before the outbreak began. 

Overall, 55 percent of people in the US say their financial circumstances are about the same now as a year ago, and 30 percent say their finances have improved, according to the poll from Impact Genome and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. 

Only 15 percent of respondents say they are worse off. The problem is more pronounced at lower income levels: 29 percent of Americans living below the federal poverty line say their personal finances worsened in the past year. Roughly that many also find themselves in a deepening financial hole, saying they struggled to pay bills in the past three months. 

Indeed, the pandemic has wreaked havoc on the economy: the United States still has 8.4 million fewer jobs than it had in February 2020, just before Covid-19 struck. 

Of course, there has been government succour in the form of three major relief bills, which included direct economic relief payments to individuals – and this has undoubtedly helped ease the suffering of some. 

Needless to say, more can be done and should be done.