If you've been paying attention to recent polling, you know that Donald Trump is regaining ground in the battlegrounds as Kamala Harris's honeymoon bounce is now fading. There are even reports of new polling on the horizon showing that Trump's lead is coming back. Naturally, Democrats are panicking as this race appears to be resetting to pre-debate norms, where Trump only has to win one blue wall state to win the election and Kamala will have to win all three.
So naturally, COVID-19 has to come back. I wish I were kidding. According to Aron Solomon at The Hill, COVID infections are surging (gasp!) and we have to do something about it!
COVID is surging? Who is even testing for COVID anymore? According to Solomon, "Mutations of the virus continue to occur, and new variants are emerging, posing ongoing challenges to public health and safety."
He adds, "As we look ahead to the remainder of 2024 and into early 2025, we need to take stock of where we are, understand the factors driving this resurgence, and better anticipate how the pandemic might evolve."
The recent surge in COVID-19 cases has disrupted summer travel plans, overwhelmed healthcare facilities in certain areas, and left many Americans dealing with the familiar symptoms of fever, cough and fatigue. The summer months, typically associated with lower respiratory virus activity, have instead seen a significant uptick in COVID-19 infections. Several factors contribute to this unexpected surge.
One factor is the high transmissibility of newer variants. The virus has continued to mutate, with certain variants displaying enhanced ability to spread, even among populations with high vaccination rates. While vaccines remain effective at preventing severe disease and death, breakthrough infections are becoming more common, especially as immunity from earlier vaccinations wanes.
Solomon continues:
Second, the widespread relaxation of public health measures has created an environment conducive to transmission. Mask mandates, social distancing guidelines and restrictions on large gatherings have all but disappeared. This return to normalcy, while massively psychologically and economically beneficial, has provided the virus with ample opportunities to spread.
I'm not sure what alternate reality this guy lives in, but he paints a picture of another apocalyptic pandemic and advocates for the same interventions we went through last time: social distancing, masking, lockdowns, and though he doesn't say so explicitly, something tells me that mass mail-in voting is also one of the things he'd like to see happen again.
"So where do we realistically go from here, given that it is clear that COVID-19 is far from over?" he asks. "While much progress has been made in terms of vaccination and treatment, the current surge is a stark reminder that complacency is not an option. The road ahead will require a renewed commitment to public health, both from government leaders and from individuals."
Give me a break. Remember, in 2020, Joe Biden's "victory" hinged on just 50,000 votes between three battleground states. Mass mall-in voting, which is notoriously not secure, made that victory possible.
Many on the right have been joking for years that the left would try to bring COVID back before the 2024 election. Sadly, we were right.
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