Four days ago, President Biden announced that major pharmaceutical company Merck had generously agreed to partner with its former vaccine rival Johnson & Johnson.  Their 24/7 commitment will double the production of the J&J vaccine, which offers one-shot immunity for COVID-19.   

The President assured us that, as a result, there will be sufficient doses from Johnson &Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna combined to vaccinate every American adult by the end of May – two months earlier than he originally promised.  It is an amazing accomplishment!

Some states and some people have cast patience aside and abandoned mask mandates and other pandemic guidelines.  With COVID variants on the rise, such actions could be a setback for them and for the rest of us.  But what they do cannot dampen our happiness at the promise of better days that are almost here.

Yesterday, Senate Democrats passed President Biden’s $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan.”  It is expected that the House of Representatives will do the same and then send the bill to the President who will sign it into law.  This bill will reinvigorate small businesses, help people get back on their feet, find a job, have a place to call home, and put food on the table. It will facilitate vaccine distribution and vaccinations of our loved ones, fund safety measures that will  put kids and teachers back in classroom, and so much more.  It is a bill that will restore dignity, opportunity, and hope to the American people. 

It has been a hard and cruel year.  The kindness and bravery of so many were often sabotaged by chronic gut-wrenching loss. Emotions ricocheted from gratitude and empathy to depression and anger. Yet, in the end, our heightened awareness of each other’s humanity, being in the moment, and taking pleasure in small things has strengthened our resolve. 

It is time to reclaim our health, our future, hope, and with a grateful and humble joy, once again find a quiet space…to listen and renew.