So here we stand more than a year after Operation Warp Speed produced three vaccines in record time saving millions of lives worldwide. Yet stunningly during 2021, and despite widespread vaccinations across America, the U.S. actually suffered more COVID deaths than in 2020! Fatalities in the U.S. now number a staggering 831,000!
The global toll remains grim; Brazil recording 620,000 deaths, India 483,000, the United Kingdom 149,000 and France 124,000.
Additionally, more than 20 countries on four continents have seen coronavirus surges recently. New York City has now become the epicenter of the Omicron variant surge in the U.S., though significantly, Omicron does not seem as lethal as the Delta strain.
Positively, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore have weathered the crisis with relatively small numbers of fatalities. As for the People's Republic of China, from where the virus originated, genuine data remains sparse and it would be a bad joke to accept official statistics.
Nonetheless, we lurch from one crisis to another and nervously react to the latest pronouncements from alphabet soup agencies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Yet, our once near-pavlovian responses to the guidance from Dr. Anthony Fauci with his scientific rectitude are now often viewed with little more than passing disdain. His ever-changing advice and edicts during the pandemic have become footnotes to the sad story. Mixed messaging only compounds a confused situation.
America suffers from an acute case of Pandemic Funk, a justifiable but overplayed fear stoked by some public health officials and government agencies and reflected by media malpractice. First people were encouraged to get two vaccines to be safe. Then, better get the booster! But has that solved virus transmission?
But beyond the obvious public health requirements needed to tackle the pandemic, there's a troubling political narrative that equates health security with social control. Vaccine mandates, be they here in the United States or throughout Europe, are based on levels of control not seen since WWII. We're talking about the restrictions, lockdowns, vaccine passes and electronic data scoops which have all become part of daily life. Worries of federal mandates loom.
The Geneva-based WHO concedes, "While there were 1.8 million recorded deaths in 2020, there were 3.5 million in 2021 and we know the actual number is much higher." This sobering worldwide tally has been rising amid the spread of the Omicron variant.
Yet, WHO Director General Tedros stated, "I still remain optimistic that this can be the year we not only end the acute stage of the pandemic but we also chart a path to stronger health security."
Dr. Tedros added, "Right now, Delta and Omicron are twin threats that are driving up cases to record numbers, which again is leading to spikes in hospitalizations and deaths. I am highly concerned about Omicron being more transmissible, circulating at the same time as Delta is leading to a tsunami of cases."
But beyond America's borders, the writ and power of central governments is clearly growing, from France to South Korea. Australia presents a travesty of vaccine lockdown and bureaucratic overreach.
In France, the government has announced that wearing masks in public spaces will become mandatory for children six years old or older. The Netherlands is currently under a lockdown. Austria's fourth national lockdown of the pandemic has ended, but tight restrictions remain for unvaccinated people. In various cases there have been anti-vaccine, anti-lockdown or anti-vaccine pass protests.
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told broadcaster ZDF, "At no point in time would there be a risk that the country's health system would be overwhelmed," referring to the system in Germany. He added with cautious optimism, "I do believe that we can live with the coronavirus. That we can get our normal life back completely, that's what we are fighting for."
Have we beaten COVID-19? Not yet, but keep calm and carry on.
John J. Metzler (jjmcolumn@earthlink.net) is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of "Divided Dynamism The Diplomacy of Separated Nations: Germany, Korea, China."