Thread by @DianeSwonk

A couple of things worth remembering about the last year. The pandemic forced us to send millions home from work & school, through no fault of their own. We then tried to compensate them, not always consistently. They suffered hunger & homeless as benefits lapsed.

Now we are trying to awaken an economy that was forced into a pandemic-induced coma. The process is not easy. There are a lot of gaps. Vaccines took a whole to become plentiful, misinformation propagated & infections in many places were still high in mid April.

Now that we have vaccinations need to get more to take then & have to wait for then to become effective - 2 to 6 weeks, depending on the jab. Then add in long haul COVID suffers who also are less likely to have health insurance & no paid sick or vacation leave.

The same low-wage workers who were hit hardest by COVID-related layoffs were hit hardest by the reality of the disease itself. That makes it harder to return to work, depending on the severity of their symptoms. It’s a lot of people.

Childcare evaporated for many parents as kids shifted to leaning online instead of in-person. School and after school programs evaporated. A key issue this summer is whether summer camps will return. Very important for parents. Childcare centers also closed.

This is at same time that grandparents and older family members could not provide the help they once did to working. The risk of contagion and the worst of outcomes - fatalities was too great. Too many also lost older family members to this crisis.

Funds for childcare are picking up, but schools still not full up and running with after school programs. Vaccines help to allow older relatives provide support but still need to get and achieve efficacy. Fear ab contagion could linger.

Retirements also accelerated. Hospitals hard hit from burnout. We don’t know if these workers will return. Some may not have a choice but to return.

Moral of the story is the pandemic was unique. It is really not helpful to blame the unemployed and lowest paid worker for what is happening. (Understatement.) Many employers also reluctant to hire up until they know we will stay open after reopening.

It is fanciful to believe we can flip a switch & return to world we left given the detour we have taken. Some changes triggered by the pandemic will be long lasting.