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reaching millions of children as well.4 However, the disease continues to present an imminent threat to public health, especially among unvaccinated individuals. As the Delta variant spread across the country this summer and fall, the United States faced another severe wave of cases, deaths, and strain on the healthcare system, with the risk of hospitalization and mortality exponentially greater to unvaccinated Americans. COVID-19 has now infected over 50 million and killed over 800,000 Americans since January 2020; tens of thousands of Americans continue to be infected each day.5 Even as the nation recovers, new and emerging COVID-19 variants may continue to pose threats to both public health and the economy. Moving forward, state, local, and Tribal governments will continue to play a major role in responding through vaccination campaigns, testing, and other services. The economic recovery similarly has made tremendous progress but faces continued risks from the disease and the disruptions it has caused. In the early months of the pandemic, the United States experienced the sharpest economic downturn on record, with unemployment spiking to 14.8 percent in April 2020.6 The economy has gradually added back jobs, with growth accelerating in the first half of 2021.7 However, as the Delta variant spread, the intensified health risks and renewed disruptions slowed growth, demonstrating the continued risks from the virus. By fall 2021, the economy had exceeded its pre -pandemic size8 and unemployment had fallen below 5 percent,9 but despite this progress, too many Americans remain unemployed, out of the 4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID Data Tracker: COVID-19 Vaccinations in the United States, https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations (last visited December 31, 2021). 5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID Data Tracker, http://www.covid.cdc.gov/covid-data- tracker/#datatracker-home (last visited December 7, 2021). 6 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Unemployment Rate [UNRATE], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE (last visited December 7, 2021). 7 Id. 8 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Real Gross Domestic Product [GDPC 1 ], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GDPC1 (last visited December 7, 2021). 9 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, supra note 5. 3