August 5, 2021 ☼ pandemic ☼ economy
Source: MPR News - Link
The U.S. economy grew at a strong pace as the country emerged from the darkest days of the coronavirus pandemic. The question now is what happens next, especially as the delta variant continues to spread.
On Thursday morning, the Commerce Department reported gross domestic product grew 6.5 percent in the period between April and June from a year earlier as the rollout of vaccines spurred a surge in economic activity. That was below forecasts of around 8 percent growth.
That would potentially be the second-fastest quarterly growth since 1983, after a 33.4 percent annualized surge in the July-September period of last year, when the pandemic led to intense volatility in the economy.
Fits and starts. There will be a downswing as delta takes hold. COVID doesn’t care who’s in charge. The only way to sustain growth is to stamp it out by vaccination.