Hard Year Begets New Challenges

The year 2020, with its plethora of challenges from all aspects of life, may not be missed by many. The most notable challenge, the coronavirus pandemic, will carry on into 2021 (and perhaps beyond that). The resulting economic downturn has affected millions, with many facing reduced hours, layoffs, and/or challenges from remote work.

 The heated US election season is essentially over, but the political polarization that begat it remains a force in American life.

This year had the most active Atlantic basin hurricane season on record with several destructive storms making landfall. Western US forests burned in the latter half of the year, which followed massive fires in Australia.

What will 2021 bring? Perhaps just a small improvement from this past year will make it seem better by comparison, though many of the underlying challenges plaguing 2020 will almost certainly continue into 2021 and even into the rest of the 2020s.

 

Attack on Airport in Yemen Leaves Over Two Dozen Dead

 Explosions and gunfire rocked an airport in Aden, Yemen on Wednesday, killing at least 25 as members of a new Saudi-backed government arrived. One government officials, a deputy minister of public works, was killed.

The attack comes amid a county gripped in conflict, as the Iran-backed Houthis continue to hold a large swath of the nation as other separatist groups try to claim control. Saudi Arabia has been a major player in the conflict, opposing the Iran-backed Houthi group. The Yemen conflict is part of a broader power struggle in the Middle East between Sunni governments, including Saudi Arabia, and Shia Iran.

 

Vaccine Rollout Begins

The long-awaited coronavirus vaccines rolled out publicly this month, with three major ones approved by government regulators. This follows months of clinical trials and some doubt whether such vaccines would be ready by the year’s end. The rollouts  have not been without their challenges, however, as governments work to get the pandemic under control.

Pfizer’s vaccine was the first to be announced as clinically effective and safe, followed closely by Moderna’s vaccine, which uses new messenger RNA technology to create immunity. The challenges of these two vaccines, and from some others that will follow, include the need for two doses of the vaccine to be given days apart and the need for cold storage. Pfizer’s must be stored at temperatures hat are colder than Antarctica (around 70 Celsius), while Moderna’s must be kept at temperatures closer to a regular freezer (-20 Celsius).

Another vaccine, developed by researchers at the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, does not require the cold temperatures that Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines need and can instead be stored in a standard refrigerator. The United Kingdom has approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for use in the country, and this vaccine will likely be approved in other countries over time.

Vaccine immunizations are currently prioritized to healthcare workers and those at severe risk of complications, such as the elderly and immunosuppressed. Throughout 2021, as more vaccine doses are created and logistical issues sort themselves out, a greater share of the population, including healthy people with no pre-existing conditions, will begin receiving doses of the vaccine.

 

Biden Builds His Future Administration as Trump Fights Results

President-elect Joe Biden has begun fleshing out his cabinet for when he takes office in January. Biden has announced former Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken as his pick for secretary of state. He has announced former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to serve as treasury secretary, who, if confirmed, will be the first woman in that position. Alejandro Mayorkas, a former federal prosecutor and Obama administration official, will serve as secretary of Homeland Security.

Other cabinet-level personnel that Biden has already announced include Avril Haines as Director of National Intelligence and Neera Tanden to lead the Office of Management and Budget.

Most of Biden’s picks are seen as part of the establishment wing of the Democratic Party, with some in the party criticizing the relative lack of progressive picks.

While Biden’s election victory has been called by all major networks and most states have certified their results, President Donald Trump has continued to press forward with his challenges to the results. His campaign has alleged voter fraud and misconduct related to the election, though no evidence has come forward to substantiate these claims. Trump has also accused the FBI of ignoring voter fraud allegations.

While Trump lost the election, Republicans gained seats in the House, just several seats short of retaking the majority, in contrast to most prior political predictions that saw the Democrats taking more seats. Meanwhile, the Senate hangs in the balance as Democrats must take the two seats in Georgia to take the majority. Biden won Georgia but the state has been Republican-leaning the past few decades.

 

Coronavirus Pandemic Reaches Highest Levels This Month

Coronavirus cases skyrocketed this past month in the United States, with several days of the month posting record infection numbers. While cases numbers have stopped climbing in recent days, the massive increase this month again put stress on health systems and led politicians scrambling to respond.

Many of the COVID-19 hotspots this time were in rural areas in the middle of the country. Previous hotspots in the US had mostly been in urban areas in large states.

The ongoing pandemic has continued to stress certain sectors. Restaurants and bars struggle as government mandates limit the number of customers able to be served in addition to public skepticism of the safety of eating out. Meanwhile public transportation systems faced greatly diminished ridership, diminishing their often already stressed finances.

Across the world, coronavirus case increase led to varying responses. Some nations, like the UK and Turkey, renewed curfew and lockdown measures in an effort to stem the virus.

Several companies, including Pfizer and Moderna, have announced success in their vaccine trials, bringing hope of a general vaccine sometime in 2021.