What could lie ahead for the third year of the pandemic as China struggles and the White House calls for more funding

AP, CNN

Let’s take a look at COVID-19 news from today, March 14.

What could lie ahead for the US in the third year of the pandemic

Things seem to be looking up as the US crosses into year three of the Covid-19 pandemic. Vaccines still do a good job of keeping people alive and out of the hospital. There’s increasing access to tests and treatments. The numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths are heading in the right direction.

If living in a Covid world has taught us anything, however, it’s that the coronavirus can surprise even the smartest public health experts, and the world certainly isn’t out of the woods yet.

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White House requests supplemental Covid funding from Congress

White House Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients on Monday renewed the Biden administration’s urgent call for Congress to pass pandemic supplemental funding or face “severe consequences.”

His remarks came amid uncertainty for the legislative path forward for additional money for the federal government’s pandemic response.

The Biden administration requested $22.5 billion in supplemental Covid-19 relief funding in the massive government funding package, known as the omnibus. Negotiators had proposed a scaled-back $15.6 billion for Covid relief, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that Covid provisions would be stripped from the funding bill.

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China battles multiple outbreaks, driven by stealth omicron

China banned most people from leaving a coronavirus-hit northeastern province and mobilized military reservists Monday as the fast-spreading “stealth omicron” variant fuels the country’s biggest outbreak since the start of the pandemic two years ago.

The National Health Commission reported 1,337 locally transmitted cases in the latest 24-hour period, including 895 in the industrial province of Jilin. A government notice said that police permission would be required for people to leave the area or travel from one city to another.

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For kids with COVID-19, everyday life can be a struggle

Eight-year-old Brooklynn Chiles fidgets on the hospital bed as she waits for the nurse at Children’s National Hospital. The white paper beneath her crinkles as she shifts to look at the medical objects in the room. She’s had the coronavirus three times, and no one can figure out why.

Brooklynn’s lucky, sort of. Each time she has tested positive, she has suffered no obvious symptoms. But her dad, Rodney, caught the virus when she was positive back in September, and he died from it.

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