Final Word from Tuesday, December 28, 2021
German Pres. Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in his Christmas address that the pandemic will not just end suddenly one day and will instead occupy us for a long time to come. The New York Times referred to the pandemic two days later in its international print edition (but not on its website) as "eternal covid" and said that the feeling is taking root that "the coronavirus will not be eradicated with vaccines or lockdowns, but has become something endemic that people must learn to live with, maybe for years to come." The newspaper added that "as the pandemic drags on, scientists are often losing out to politicians." When Czechs of a certain age hear "eternal covid," they might recall the Communist-era slogan about the eternal bond with the USSR, "Se Sovětským svazem na věčné časy a nikdy jinak!" Each Czechoslovak learned to live within the system, knowing that there was little he or she could do to change it. Politically driven "eternal covid" will apparently require even greater adaptation. [ Czech Republic Germany NYT Soviet Union Russia covid-19 ]
Glossary of difficult words
to take root - to become established; to take hold;
to eradicate - to put an end to; to destroy completely;
endemic - (of a disease or condition) regularly found among particular people or in a certain area;
Se Sovětským svazem na věčné časy a nikdy jinak! - With the Soviet Union forever and ever and never otherwise!;
adaptation - the action or process of becoming adjusted to new conditions.