New Covid-19 variants are threatening the economic recovery
New variants of Covid-19 sweeping the world aren’t just throwing a wrench in government vaccination plans and efforts to stay ahead of the pandemic. They’re also complicating the economic recovery, as leaders acknowledge they can’t commit to easing restrictions later this year without a clearer picture of where infections are headed.
What’s happening: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that the country’s lockdown would be extended to Mar. 7, noting that “three aggressive mutations” have changed the calculus. Merkel said the country needs to “prepare for new variants to become dominant,” and warned that “mutations could destroy the vaccine’s success.”