We all have a lot of hopes for 2021. It could be the year the United States bounces back from the coronavirus pandemic. We could start to heal after the devastating losses it caused. But there are still so many unknowns. As we head into a new year, we’ve got a new incoming president and a vaccine rollout underway. Journalist Ed Yong wrote about what could come next, for The Atlantic:
The pandemic will end not with a declaration, but with a long, protracted exhalation. Even if everything goes according to plan, which is a significant if, the horrors of 2020 will leave lasting legacies. A pummeled health-care system will be reeling, short-staffed, and facing new surges of people with long-haul symptoms or mental-health problems. Social gaps that were widened will be further torn apart. Grief will turn into trauma. And a nation that has begun to return to normal will have to decide whether to remember that normal led to this. “We’re trying to get through this with a vaccine without truly exploring our soul,” said Mike Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota.
The outcome of the dual Georgia Senate runoffs will determine the makeup of the Senate. We’ve got the second half of a Supreme Court term. And we’re still learning more about the long-term effects of COVID-19.
To help make sense of what to expect in the year ahead, we’re hosting a special 2021 preview edition of the News Roundup.
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