Even as we seem to be getting back to normal in our everyday lives, the new Omicron subvariant virus is spreading in the nation. While it seems to be even more contagious than the original Omicron, it does not generally produce more severe illness.
Health officials believe that we will be all right until late next fall or winter, at which time our immunity from the vaccines will begin to wear off. In the meantime, they will continue to track the virus and make determinations about what to do as the situation develops.
In his new budget proposal, the President would like health agencies to get $81.7 billion in mandatory funding over five years to help prepare for future pandemics.
The administration wants to start a program to give free vaccines to adults without insurance, modeled after the existing one for children, and spend $975 million boosting the nation’s stockpile of disease countermeasures.
