In 2021, coronavirus , unfortunately, has not disappeared anywhere , but humanity has a hope – a vaccine against Covid-19, and more than one.
For a year, the coronavirus responded with mutations in an attempt to survive. New strains are emerging in the world. The latter – Omicron – forces Europe to close for the New Year holidays, even for vaccinated tourists.
Virologists recommend to be patient. Covid-19 will not disappear next year … But the light at the end of the tunnel will get brighter.
Will the pandemic be over? What challenges does 2022 have in store for us? We can conventionally divide them into three parts.
The first political is the confrontation between China and the United States, into which Ukraine will take the side.
The second is the energy challenge. What will happen to the prices of electricity, gas and fuel when speculation on the international market ends.
And the last challenge is Covid-19. It looks like a pandemic that has been raging for two years now will turn into an endemic.
What does all this mean?
This year we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War era and superpower rivalry. However, it is symbolic that today the world is becoming bipolar again. The United States and China are treading the path of war.
The turning point occurred in 2021, when the US confrontation with China went beyond the trade.
2022 will be indicative … The Winter Olympics will open in Beijing in February. The Chinese will host international competitions on a grand scale. It will be somewhat overshadowed by the diplomatic boycott that several countries have announced in the game. Officially, because of human rights violations in China.
Biden will not send any official representatives to the Winter Olympics in Beijing due to the genocide in the Uyghur Autonomous Region and other human rights violations. Athletes from the USA will of course come and have our support.
Ukraine is not among the boycotters. However, this does not mean that Kiev will stay away from the American-Chinese clash.
The United States is the main partner in the field of security, and China has been the largest trade for us for several years in a row. partner – 16% of all our trade is the Chinese market. When we are forced to choose, and we will be forced – what are you ready to give up? It's actually a choice between money and security … We cannot afford to give up either the first or the second.
Next year will be a test for the strength of the European Union.
In Europe there is such a moment when there are no strong political leaders – Angela Merkel is gone. Britain is no longer in the European Union and now Macron is one of the last who has ambitions to become the leader of the EU and he too may leave.
Next year, the presidential elections in France. And there there are all chances for pro-Russian politicians to come to power, which exist both among representatives of the right-wing and left-wing forces.
Russia is already on horseback due to rising prices for oil, gas and coal. The world is going through an energy crisis, which will peak next year.
The cost of blue fuel is already seven times higher than last winter. And in 2022 it may grow even more.
If you list the current price that is on European exchanges, then today it should be 50-55 UAH per cubic meter. That is, if you include market prices for the population, then generally there will be no money left for life. Many European countries have begun to subsidize gas for consumers.
Will 2022 be the year of the end of the pandemic? It's hard to believe that this is possible when you watch the news. Despite the holidays, many countries are reintroducing lockdowns, restricting travel and public events.
But previous studies indicate that this variant of the virus, although more infectious, is still less harmful to humans.
< p> WHO makes a cautious forecast & # 8212; 2022 will be the year of the end of the pandemic. And Covid-19 will turn into a so-called endemic disease, similar to seasonal flu.
There are still a lot of ifs about Covid-19. It is not known how the new strains will behave, whether the vaccination will end effectively. But scientists and doctors in two years have learned to overcome the disease much better.
Our life, like the color of a tiger, consists of light and black stripes. I would like to believe that 2022 will bring us more bright .
