So...is the pandemic over now?

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No, the Pandemic Isn't Over Yet By Alice Park Senior Health Correspondent In his State of the Union speech night, President Joe Biden made it clear that the Administration is moving into the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic—one in which the threats of disease and death are considerably diminished, and therefore no longer require the resources and urgent allocation of funds that the previous two years have. “While the virus is not gone...we have broken COVID’s grip on us," Biden said. But is he right? Here's what health experts told me about the federal government's recent moves distancing the U.S. from the pandemic. Some winding down is justified. The U.S. government recently announced that it will end the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies in May. That's reasonable, many say, because most people have either been vaccinated or have recovered from an infection (or both), so the population’s immunity is fairly high. COVID-19 is not through with us. Globally, there are around 200,000 new cases and 1,000 deaths a day. The latest Omicron variants quashed any hope of the pandemic ending any time soon. While they do not cause more serious infections than past variants, they have mastered the challenge of hopping more efficiently from one infected person to another. We are wasting an opportunity. Even though COVID-19 cases are no longer inundating most hospitals, that means it’s time to rethink the COVID-19 response, not abandon it. The best way forward at this point is to refine and target COVID-19 services to optimize the chances of controlling the virus where it may be causing the most health problems. READ MORE

What else to read Psychedelics May Be Part of U.S. Medicine Sooner Than You Think By Jamie Ducharme Australian psychiatrists will soon be able to prescribe MDMA and psilocybin. The U.S. may not be too far behind. Read More » We Still Don't Know What Works Best to Slow the Spread Of COVID-19 By Gideon Meyerowitz-Kahn and Gavin Yamey Because of a lack of research, we still can't answer important questions about what reduced the spread of COVID-19. Read More » Type 2 Diabetes Remission Is Possible. Here's How to Do It By Michael O. Schroeder Patients with Type 2 diabetes can achieve remission, usually via weight loss. Read More » What It's Like to Be 'Mind Blind' By Nayantara Dutta Aphantasia, or mind blindness, refers to an inability to visualize imagery. Read More » Birdwatching Has Big Mental-Health Benefits. Here's How to Start By Angela Haupt Research suggests that seeing—and even just hearing—birds can relieve stress. Read More »

ONE LAST STORY You should really have more fun If you can’t remember the last time you had fun, maybe it’s time to schedule it on the calendar. In a new piece for NPR, April Fulton makes the case that fun is perhaps easier to achieve than happiness, and within reach for all of us. Some ideas on how to build it into your life: reflect on what your “fun magnets” are—trapeze? Making big soap bubbles?—and then share those activities with someone else. Read More »

If you were forwarded this and want to sign up to receive it daily, click here. Today's newsletter was written by Alice Park and Angela Haupt and edited by Mandy Oaklander.

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