This flu season is so bad it’s crowding out Covid

There are three types of people in the world right now: those who were sick with the flu this season, those who are sick with it right now a [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( There are three types of people in the world right now: those who were sick with the flu this season, those who are sick with it right now and those who are dreading getting sick with it. Exaggeration? Maybe. But flu, RSV, colds, strep and a [multitude of other gross — and dangerous — things]( are [ravaging populations]( and wreaking havoc on health-care systems, just as we reach the three-year mark of the Covid-19 pandemic. And yet, life has returned to pre-pandemic normalcy in much of the world. Mask mandates and social distancing are distant memories in most countries; supply chains that knotted up during the height of lockdowns have largely become untangled. “This is not to say that we’re in the clear,” writes Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP. “The pandemic is not over, but the public health emergency that turned our lives upside down is. And that means expanded executive authority should be rolled back.” The [emergency declarations put in place]( during the Trump administration in 2020 were invaluable toward helping the most vulnerable Americans and rolling out vaccines, Bloomberg says, but it’s time for elected representatives, not an emboldened executive branch, to carry out Covid policies. On the other side of the containing-Covid coin is China. Last week, the country surprised everyone by easing notoriously strict Covid Zero limits on social and business activities in an attempt to kick-start its economy (and perhaps to halt the spread of [public protests]( against the ruling Communist Party, as Niall Ferguson points out). It might be [late to the reopening party](, Daniel Moss writes, but China’s re-entry into the wider world will surely be a relief to its people. Economic worries might have been the catalyst for China’s pivot, and such economic worries elsewhere aren’t about to go away, either, much like Covid itself. As Kathryn Edwards writes, recovery from Covid is often taking much longer than expected. More people are getting sick, staying sick, and becoming unable to work due to the US’s lack of labor protections — and [that’s something the country won’t be able to handle](. //link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/29950368.54662/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmxvb21iZXJnLmNvbS9vcGluaW9uL2FydGljbGVzLzIwMjItMTItMDMvbG93LXVzLWNvdmlkLXZhY2NpbmUtcmF0ZXMtbGVkLXRvLWhpZ2gtZGVhdGgtcmF0ZXMtZHVyaW5nLWRlbHRhLW9taWNyb24_dXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXImdXRtX3Rlcm09MjIxMjExJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1zaGFyZXRoZXZpZXc/582c8673566a94262a8b49bdB31a1b5e0We can still do our part to curb transmission of this seemingly bottomless stew of disease, and that would also give our tireless health-care workers some breathing room. Lisa Jarvis writes that getting your flu shot and your Covid booster, along with masking in public places and staying home when you’re sick, can go a long way toward [making your holidays tripledemic-free](. Last week, my 7-year-old and I came down with the flu; just as I recovered from that, I managed to pick up another virus. “It’s not Covid or flu — just one of dozens of other things going around,” the doc told me. Five days later, I’m still waiting for my industrial-strength cough medicine to come back in stock at the pharmacy. May the odds be ever in your favor. More Covid Reading: - [The Tragedy of Avoidable Covid Deaths]( — Faye Flam - [Why Anthony Fauci Is Still Optimistic About Science]( — Lisa Jarvis Notes: To contact the author of this newsletter, email Brooke Sample at bsample1@bloomberg.net. This is the Theme of the Week edition of Bloomberg Opinion Today, a digest of our top commentary published every Sunday. Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022