2022 Economic Forecast

This morning's 2022 Economic Forecast featured a panel of experts who provided the latest updates in labor, real estate, construction, tourism and more as this information relates to Guam and the region. If you missed this informative session, you may want to grab a beverage and a pen to jot down some interesting and relevant information to help you make plans for your business.

Special thanks to our expert panel members for an extremely informative session!

• DAVID JOHN, Chairman & CEO, ASC Trust & Chairman, Guam Economic Development Authority (GEDA)
• GARY HILES, Chief Economist, Guam Department of Labor
• SISKA HUTAPEA, President, Cornerstone Valuation Guam, Inc.
• VINCE ARRIOLA, Director, Guam Department of Public Works
• GERALD S.A. PEREZ, Ph.D. Vice President, Guam Visitors Bureau
• DAVID BEAVER, Senior Vice President, Wealth Management Advisor, Merrill Lynch

US CHAMBER: The Omicron Virus

How much of a threat is the Omicron variant to public health? In a special edition of the U.S. Chamber Foundation’s Path Forward, the US Chamber gathered experts, including Chamber President and CEO Suzanne Clark interviewing U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, to answer questions about the current state of the pandemic.

Why it matters: We want you to have the best information available to keep your employees, customers, and communities safe.



Here are three takeaways:

The medical community is looking at three important questions.

• “Number one, is it more transmissible than what we've been dealing with so far?” Dr. Murthy said. "Number two, does it cause more severe disease than what we've seen? And number three, does it impact the protection that we get from vaccines and therapeutics like monoclonal antibodies?”

Vaccines should be effective.

• “We have a strong hypothesis that boosters are going to play a significant role in our protection,” said Dr. Katelyn Jetelina.

• “The most important thing people can do is to go out there and get boosted if you are already vaccinated, and ... if you're not vaccinated, [get] vaccinated as quickly as possible,” said Dr. Murthy.

We have more tools and knowledge

• “This is really the time for us to double down on these learnings and tools so that we can go about much of our lives at work and at home the way we all want to,” Dr. Murthy explained.

US Chamber's take: “We echo the sentiment expressed today by President Biden that no business should have to shut down this winter because of COVID-19. Vaccines are the most effective way to stop the spread of this deadly virus.”

Resources

• Interview with U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy

• Ask Me Anything with Dr. Katelyn Jetelina

• COVID-19 Vaccine Resource Center

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