Covid-19 has now contributed to two second-term presidential campaigns. In November 2020, when the virus was raging throughout the world, and fears were at their peak, the country sought a return to normalcy – And a plan to reduce health and economic turmoil was a key factor. Voters selected the Biden presidency to do that and with no small irony, President Biden’s run for a second term was given a blow by his own Covid-19 infection — a cautionary reminder of the pathogen’s staying power over two presidencies.
This is a symptom of the challenge both providers and consumers in the U.S. healthcare system face. Immediate concerns are generated by the growing surge of Covid-19. Test positivity was 11% as of July 6, per the CDC, up from 9.1% the previous week. For context, this past winter’s peak was 12%. A CDC map shows that test positivity is highest in California and the Southwest. Covid-19 related emergency room visits were up 23% in the past week and hospitalizations are rising steadily, per the CDC.
Long-term concerns are still evidenced by Covid-19 post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) also known as COVID-19. And this is even among vaccinated persons who have had viral infections during the Omicron era. One study of more than 400,000 infected U.S. Veterans, published on July 17 in the New England Journal of Medicine continued to raise these concerns about Long COVID.
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