(Newser)
– Everyone has become familiar with the word “pandemic” over the last year. Now, he Wall Street Journal reports that we will probably need to change our thinking about COVID to use “endemic”. That is, the virus could be with us in some way for years or perhaps permanently, like the flu. This is not to say that draconian restrictions are maintained as well: a disease is endemic when it is “persistently present but manageable,” write Daniela Hernandez and Drew Hinshaw. But it could mean long-term changes in smaller ways, for example, a quick stick before entering a concert. History points out that a lot of home industries are emerging to take advantage of them, revolving around things like rapid testing, ventilation, filters and new COVID treatments.
“Going through the five phases of mourning, we need to get to the acceptance phase that our lives will not be the same,” says former CDC chief Thomas Frieden. “I don’t think the world has really absorbed the fact that these are long-term changes.” In the meantime:
- Schools: The AP reports that the school administration across the country plans a continuation of remote learning until the fall, despite President Biden’s hopes to the contrary. On the one hand, vaccines for children are still a long way off.
- Reinfections: He magazine History points out that COVID seems particularly adept at persisting in part because of its spread and mutation easily, and a history independent of the AP illustrates why. According to new research, evidence is growing that once infected people may not be sure of reinfection by any of the rapid-spread variants.
(Read more COVID-19 stories.)