The State of the Pandemic

The coronavirus seems to be in retreat in the United States, with the number of cases across the country down about 25 percent compared with a couple of weeks ago. Hospitalizations and deaths are also falling.So, what stage are we in with the pandemic? And how will developments such as a new antiviral treatment and the availability of booster shots affect things?Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter for The New York Times. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The authorization for booster shots applies to groups of people in the United States fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, but about 45 percent of the country’s fully inoculated people received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson doses.Merck said it would seek authorization for molnupiravir, an antiviral pill that the company says is effective against Covid. Experts said such treatments could be a powerful tool against the virus.Despite a fall in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths, public health officials said the pandemic remained a potent threat.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.