It would mean that we could plan our lives. SLAVITT: Well, if this virus were - it had exactly the same properties, but it only visited us, say, once a year, it would be remarkably different situation. First of all, you say that the unpredictability of the virus could - well, the virus could mutate in more predictable ways. And people don't really see the scenarios under which that's likely to change.ĮSTRIN: Well, your essay is called "The Three COVID Developments I'm Still Holding Out Hope For." So hope is a good word. And even if it doesn't kill us, it keeps us out of work, keeps us out of school, disrupts our social life.
But there is a consistency to it, which is, you know, in the U.S., at least 500 or so, 400 to 500 people a day dying. SLAVITT: Well, I think we're just in this extended period of time where for many people, it feels like they can't answer the question, how is this going to improve? How is this going to get better? What's going to change? We're in this state that's, you know, still a pandemic, not quite an endemic. It's a pretty aggressive variant, as we all know.ĮSTRIN: So how would you describe this weird moment we're in? I mean, in your essay, you call it a pandemic rut. SLAVITT: It's a bit of a mystery other than to say that I think, you know, BA.5, the current variant we have, can find holes in anybody's story. And I felt better in about five or six days, so I'm very fortunate. You know, I've been vaccinated, and I got the monoclonal antibodies.
Andy Slavitt, thank you for being here.ĮSTRIN: So you just had COVID, I understand. He also served as acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid under President Obama. Slavitt was a senior COVID adviser in the Biden administration. have been at about 130,000 cases a day, which leaves many of us wondering, are we going to need to live like this forever? Andy Slavitt has been thinking about that question, and he offers some answers in an essay in The Atlantic this week. Despite the vaccine rollouts, the boosters, the second boosters, these last few weeks, daily infections in the U.S.
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