COVID-19: The Current Reality of a Global Pandemic
From social distancing, to mask mandates, the world in terms of COVID-19 continues to cope with current conditions, facing deaths, depression and disaster. Until conditions improve, getting vaccinated, staying home and wearing a mask indoors will only accelerate the process of combatting the virus.
May 19, 2021
From March 2020 until now the world in terms of COVID-19 continues to suffer with cases continuing to rise, but with vaccine distribution still well underway, our nation remains hopeful.
Looking at the current death toll, the United States continues to lose its citizens, hitting a staggering 580k deaths. In terms of cases, the United States alone has hit over 32.6 million cases. The world has hit 156 million cases, with over 92.4 million recovered and 3.26 million dead.
“Covid seems to be getting better, but cases are still on the rise. I just hope everyone gets vaccinated or at least enough to where we can reach herd immunity,” junior Jenna Saaskilati said.
The United States continues to make headway with President Biden’s efforts, with him creating a pact to vaccinate 100 million in his first 100 days, a goal he exceeded within the first 50 days. As of now, nearly 31 percent of all Americans are fully vaccinated and 44 percent have gotten at least their first dose. In addition, on a global scale over 252 million vaccines in terms of doses administered and 109 million fully vaccinated as of May 5th. On a global scale, more than 56 percent of the adult population has received at least one dose, while 40 percent of adults have received two doses.
“The fact that millions are already fully vaccinated is so great. We need to keep following guidelines though, just because you’re vaccinated doesn’t mean others are,” Saaskilhati said.
President Biden plans on vaccinating at least 70 percent of adults with their first dose by July 4. The administration also aims to vaccinate 160 million adults fully by then, a push to improve the level of immunity in the country. Biden also plans to make vaccines more accessible by ordering tens of thousands of pharmacies to offer walk-in appointments, fund more pop-up and mobile clinics and distribute more doses of the vaccine to rural communities.
Overall, the United States and world as a whole will continue to suffer under COVID’s conditions, coping with the grim reality of over three million deaths worldwide. From mask mandates to social distancing, our planet looks to face this virus for years to come until herd immunity occurs. Until then finding the positive and receiving vaccinations remains our biggest responsibility, to keep ourselves and the world around us safe.
