An end and a beginning

 The Covid 19 pandemic: where we've been and where we are going!

A year ago on March 11, 2020, the Covid 19 virus had effected enough countries for it to be declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Since that date the world has been transformed. There have been more than 118.7 million COVID-19 cases throughout the world and more than 2.6 million people have died world-wide from the pandemic. Many, many things have changed, some for the worse and a few for the better. The good news is that rates of infection are declining and the rate of people passing away from the virus is also going down gradually.  At this time more than 10% of Americans have been vaccinated and the number of doses of vaccine continue to grow daily.  Before long, younger people and children will be able to receive the vaccine if they and their parents choose to get it.  At this point in the middle of March we can finally and clearly see the end of the pandemic tunnel. Despite many mistakes made by leadership at all levels and despite the many tragedies world-wide that resulted from Covid 19, things are starting to get better in the United States.

Although many people have lost jobs, the U.S. government has provided multiple stimulus checks and unemployment benefits to help people harmed by the lockdowns and lost economic activity. The most recent stimulus checks of $1,400 per person are reaching bank accounts right now. In general, the U.S. economy is growing and as the pandemic starts to end more and more jobs will become available as people return to the workplace.

Finally, almost all schools are starting to reopen and some schools have had hybrid learning for months. Even Waukegan and Chicago schools will be back to some on-campus learning in April. In the fall there may still be some safeguards in place to protect against the virus, but most students will be vaccinated and almost all teachers and staff will have received their vaccines. This will make the 2021-2022 school year much more normal than we've experienced over the last year.

We now have at least three different vaccines to choose from. Each day the supply of vaccines in Illinois grows and by the end of May all adults will probably have the chance to receive the vaccine if they choose. Children and teens will all be vaccinated by the end of the summer according to current plans. Soon a day will come when we no longer need to wear masks, at long last. Despite a terrible year with so many sad and unfortunate events, we are now finally nearing the end  of the pandemic and can look forward to a better and brighter future!

Good luck in online and hybrid learning this year and best wishes for a nice and normal school year 2021-2022!

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