Cartoon: Hope for the pandemic’s end

There is hope.

The definition of hope is to want something to happen or be true, and usually to have a good reason to think it might. We want to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind us. Mentally and economically, we need it to be over.

So many businesses that temporarily shut down due to the pandemic have since closed their doors for good. School closures carry high social and economic costs for communities, deepening educational inequality in the United States by impairing the academic progress of children, especially from low-income neighborhoods.

Dealing with the death of a loved one is one of the most difficult things we have to go through in life. Coronavirus made it even harder for people to say goodbye. Our nursing homes were hardest hit. Governor Andrew Cuomo directed New York nursing homes to take in COVID patients, leading to many unnecessary deaths—and was accused of a cover-up.

Our scientists and healthcare workers have been heroic throughout the entire ordeal, saving many lives.

Operation Warp Speed, a Trump administration initiative to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines as fast as possible, should be lauded as an unprecedented success. We don’t have hope without the vaccine.

Recently, former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb—declared by New York magazine ”one of the pandemic’s most prescient commentators”— said that he’s feeling optimistic about the coming months.

So let’s continue to practice COVID-19 safety protocols as we look toward a brighter future—one that includes family, friends and Phillies games.

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