A complex recovery is taking shape

When the COVID-19 pandemic began putting constraints on daily life around 18 months ago, it would have been hard to imagine where Americans find themselves now, which is neither here nor there.

The good news is that, in many ways, the economy is back open for business. Most Americans are traveling again, most children are back in school in-person, and sports events are well-attended.

But beneath those positive developments is a patchwork of rules, restrictions and experiences related to COVID-19 that have made for a much more uneven economic recovery than many thought would happen when mass vaccinations began to happen last spring.

Stubbornly high levels of vaccine refusal and hesitancy – some 25% of those eligible have not yet gotten the jab – and the rise of the Delta variant has added yet another dimension in making America a country with pronounced regional differences. While we are, in large part, getting on with life, neither are we free from COVID – but the degree to which that applies varies wildly depending on where you live.

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