Will COVID-19 Ever Truly Go Away?

Plus: 3 Big Retailers Reporting Big Earnings You are receiving this limited-time email resource as a subscriber to Kiplinger's free e-newsletters. To unsubscribe at any time, simply click the link in the footer below. MAY 19, 2021 [View in browser]( HOW TO PROTECT AND GROW YOUR BUSINESS AND INVESTMENTS NOW COVID-19 may never truly go away, despite hopes for the U.S. reaching herd immunity as more people get vaccinated or recover from infections and gain natural immunity. Three things could keep us short of herd immunity: The protection from vaccines or prior infections may prove temporary; future COVID-19 variants could infect people who are immune to the existing strains; or a significant minority of the population may never get vaccinated. However, this isn’t as bad as it sounds. Scientists believe that at some point, COVID-19 will become “endemic” rather than pandemic, meaning that it will still be around, but it will be less deadly and less common. They think that the human body will eventually adjust on its own to at least lessen the severity of an infection, so that COVID-19 becomes more like the cold: A seasonal nuisance that hits people more when they are indoors in close proximity in the winter months and during the holidays. Children in school could still pass it around, much like they do with other viruses. --------------------------------------------------------------- SPONSORED CONTENT FROM ONFOLIO [Invest In Onfolio Holding Inc's 12% Annual Dividend Preferred Shares]( Onfolio Holdings, Inc. is currently [offering preferred shares]( in its holding company. Onfolio typically acquires online businesses that generate profits of 25%, and pays Series A preferred shareholders a 12% dividend. [You can read more about their offering here.]( [READ MORE]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Even in a less deadly state, COVID will still be deadly for some, much like the 30,000 to 50,000 people who die each year from the flu in the U.S. Precautions will likely still be needed in the long term for people deemed more vulnerable. Three major retailers knock it out of the park. The retail industry has delivered an unmistakably favorable signal of economic recovery over the past few days, in the form of three boffo earnings reports from some of Wall Street’s biggest names. Walmart ([WMT]( started the party yesterday by announcing quarterly profits of $1.69 per share, which exceeded expectations by 40%, helped by a 37% jump in U.S. e-commerce sales. Target ([TGT]( enjoyed a 23% jump in Q1 revenues that helped it earn $3.69 per share -- 64% better than the pros’ estimates. And then there’s Home Depot ([HD]( which sits at the intersection of two favorable trends: America’s economic revival and a red-hot real estate market. Home Depot’s $3.86 per share in profits topped estimates by 25% on sales that improved by nearly 33%. UBS analysts called it a “Pro-lific” report, a nod to the robust growth in its Home Depot Pro offering for professionals. “Strategic investments should enable it (to) grab incremental share over the long run,” they write. “Overall, we see the potential for upward earnings revisions going forward, which should help drive the stock higher.” For those looking to keep tabs on retail’s progress, a big data point to look out for is the May 2021 Advance Monthly Retail report, due out ahead of the market open on June 15. Free download, [The Kiplinger Letter's Forecast](. No information required from you. SPONSORED CONTENT FROM ONFOLIO [Invest In Onfolio Holding Inc's 12% Annual Dividend Preferred Shares]( Onfolio Holdings, Inc. is currently [offering preferred shares]( in its holding company. Onfolio typically acquires online businesses that generate profits of 25%, and pays Series A preferred shareholders a 12% dividend. [You can read more about their offering here.]( [READ MORE]( LATEST INVESTING NEWS FROM KIPLINGER.COM [How Long Should You Keep Tax Records?]( [The "Who's Who" of Streaming Video Stocks]( [What AT&T's WarnerMedia Spinoff Means for Your Dividends]( [Child Tax Credit 2021: Who Gets $3,600? Will I Get Monthly Payments? And Other FAQs]( [Prosper From the Latest Insights From Practicing Financial Pros in Kiplinger's Building Wealth E-Newsletter -- Free](kiplinger.com/email) [Kiplinger] [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( Send this to a friend. [Click here.]( All content ©2021 The Kiplinger Washington Editors 1100 13th Street, NW, Suite 1000 Washington, D.C. 20005 Thank you for subscribing to Kiplinger's A Step Ahead, a free resource to help readers navigate the economic recovery from COVID-19. If you ever wish to stop receiving this service, please [click here to unsubscribe](.