It is pretty much a given that anyone you were to ask if they thought 2020 was a terrible year, they would undeniably answer with a resounding YES!
Life as we know it has not only halted but has been forever altered by the coronavirus pandemic that hit the nation, and the world, earlier in the year.
Now, as we are less than two months out from the calendar turning over into 2021, there are widespread concerns about what the new year will bring, with a pandemic that doesn't show any indication of slowing down any time soon.
The new year can present with various scenarios, depending on multiple factors, such as the availability of either a viable treatment or vaccine and how seriously the public chooses to follow the mandates and rules that have and will be set down by various public health officials.
The bottom line is that it will all depend on what is learned about the virus by the experts as time goes on. Every day what is known and unknown, changes, and these changes will be the moving parts that will shape the new year to come.
If we have learned anything from this pandemic, there are no guarantees, and anything can change in the blink of an eye. When looking forward to 2021, one thing is for sure—life as we have known it will continue to be forever changed.
Even with the release of a vaccine, the odds are that one will be available for adults well before one for children. The procedures and protocols that will assuredly be put into place for the widespread administering of a vaccine could prove problematic in the beginning stages and could lead to vaccine hesitancy among many.
There is also the eviction moratorium that will be ending on the last day of this year, December 31st. The moratorium was designed to protect renters from becoming homeless and help prevent the spread of coronavirus. With the moratorium ending, health experts worry as to what effect it will have on the ongoing pandemic.
Finally, we are cautioned not to think that the virus will go away with the new year's change. In fact, it is speculated that the pandemic may reach far into the year 2021, but hopefully not beyond.
Do you think 2021 will be even worse for the pandemic than 2020 was?