High inflation? Low polling? White House blames the pandemic

By ZEKE MILLER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation is soaring, businesses are struggling to hire and President Joe Biden’s poll numbers have been in free fall. The White House sees a common culprit, namely COVID-19. Biden’s team views the pandemic as the root cause of both the nation’s malaise and his own political woes. The Biden team sees getting more people vaccinated and finally controlling COVID-19 as the key to reviving the country and Biden’s own standing. But the coronavirus has proved to be a vexing challenge. The economy is actually improving, but there are signs COVID-19 will leave its scars. And now there’s a new variant, omicron, to worry about.