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 | | Daily reported coronavirus cases in the United States, seven-day average.The New York Times |
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As we prepare to enter the third year of the pandemic, we have been hoping for more normality and less Covid disruption by now. Case counts are soaring to all-time highs in some parts of the world, and 2022 is shaping up to be just as uncertain as the last 12 months. |
That said, we've made huge strides against the coronavirus this year. There are now multiple vaccines that offer powerful protection against the worst effects of Covid, as well as remarkably effective treatments for those who become infected. |
Next year will bring more advancements, too, and I'll be here to keep you updated on the science, and to gather the information and advice you need to live your best life during the pandemic. |
Today, in the last Coronavirus newsletter of the year, I'm taking a look ahead. I spoke to Times reporters about some of the big pandemic issues they'll be tracking in 2022. Here's what they said. |
Living with the virus. This week, Dr. Anthony Fauci was asked whether we had to start to live with the virus and accept some risk of mild infections. His answer was essentially yes. |
"We're never going to stop counting tests," he said. But we're going to have to adjust to some controlled spread of the virus, being more sensitive to economic and societal concerns, he said. |
My colleague Noah Weiland, a health reporter at The Times, told me that we'd heard comments like this from top officials before, but this time he said it felt particularly notable amid the spread of the Omicron variant. So many people are getting sick, he said, and those who have not may have even resigned themselves to the possibility of an infection sometime in the coming weeks and months. |
"What I'll be looking for next year is how the Biden administration reflects that thinking in its policymaking," Noah said. "Will we continue to see the administration and state health officials emphasize protection against mild infections? Or will they transition to more of a longer-term approach, accepting a more considerable degree of risk with less severe infections while trying to allow Americans to resume life as normal?" |
Vaccines. There are currently 113 vaccines in clinical trial on humans, and 44 have reached the final stages of testing. But as the virus mutates, it's raising big questions about how effective they will be in the future, and whether new vaccines can be quickly created and manufactured to keep up with the changing virus. |
"One thing I'll be looking at is how vaccine makers cope with Omicron and future variants," said my colleague Carl Zimmer, who covers science for The Times. "Will we need a universal booster that protects against all possible variants, or just vaccines specific to Omicron or some other variant?" |
Doses in the developing world. My colleague Stephanie Nolen, The Times's global health reporter, said she'll be watching for the clinical trial results from the mRNA vaccine candidates being developed in the global south. |
"The whole landscape of vaccine-making could change dramatically in the year ahead," she said. "A few months ago I profiled two mRNA vaccines, one from a biotech company called Gennova in India, and the other from the Chula Vaccine Research Institute in Thailand. Both are designed to be heat stable — so they won't require ultracold refrigeration — and cheap to make, so suitable for developing country settings." |
"They could prove key to closing the vaccine access gap, and ending the pandemic," she added. "And if they prove effective for Covid-19, meaning that these vaccine makers have nailed the technology, then it opens the doors for accessible vaccines for a range of other illnesses that primarily afflict the poor." |
Covid pills. The U.S. has authorized two Covid pills, convenient at-home treatments that proved effective in staving off severe disease in clinical trials. But my colleague Rebecca Robbins, a business reporter who covers the virus, asks: How much of an impact will these treatments make in the real world? |
"In the coming months, I'll be tracking whether these pills from Pfizer and Merck can fulfill their promise," Rebecca said. "In a best-case scenario, these pills will keep many people out of the hospital. But that will hinge on whether there's enough supply, whether they can reach the most vulnerable patients and whether patients can get the pills quickly enough after getting infected. Those things are far from guaranteed." |
"I'm going to be keeping a close eye on what scientists are learning about which species are susceptible to the virus and whether any of them might become reservoirs of it," said my colleague Emily Anthes, a science and health reporter. "That might pose risks not just to animal health but also to our own — the virus could mutate in other species and then potentially 'spill back' into humans." |
Celebrating the New Year, safely |
What else we're following |
We still plan to give the restaurant we chose for New Year's Eve — with two other couples — business by asking for our dinners to be "take out." We decided not to take a chance on getting Omicron even though we are all triple vaccinated. We are all over 70 and will ask everyone to rapid test before we get together. It just ain't worth the risk. — Sally Ragin, Longmont, Colo. |
Let us know how you're dealing with the pandemic. Send us a response here, and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter. |
We're off tomorrow for New Year's Eve. As the year comes to a close, I'd like to take a moment to thank all of you who read this newsletter. Your emails and comments make us better, and they continue to make us tear up, laugh and smile. Thanks for reading, and see you next year. |
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