COVID-19 could become a seasonal illness like the flu, experts say
COVID-19 could become a seasonal illness like the flu, experts say - 2021-02-13
Millions of people around the globe are hoping that between lockdowns and vaccines, the virus that causes COVID-19 might soon be eradicated from our lives. Now, experts are warning that the virus might be with us forever -- but it won't always be a deadly plague.
Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, concurred, adding that he is also "not sure we're ever going to really eliminate this virus. ... It's not like measles, where you get life-long sterilizing immunity."
But even if the virus sticks around, new vaccines and new drugs to fight the virus mean it's unlikely to cause severe illness in the future. Offit predicts "that eventually, it will cause fewer deaths than influenza."
It is possible, experts say, that COVID-19 could become a seasonal illness, like the flu. Virologists call this an "endemic" disease -- one that is constantly circulating among us. In the years and decades to come, many people will be exposed to it in childhood and develop some immunity, which would protect them later in life against serious disease.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/covid-19-seasonal-illness-flu-experts/story?id=75830451