(Newer)
– Everyone has become familiar with the word “pandemic” in the past year. Now the Wall Street Journal reports that we will likely have to shift our thinking about COVID to use “endemic” instead. This means that the virus can somehow be with us for years, or perhaps permanently, like the flu. That does not mean that draconian limitations would persist – a disease is endemic if it is “persistent but manageable,” write Daniela Hernandez and Drew Hinshaw. But it can mean long-term changes in smaller ways – like a quick cotton swab before going to a concert. The story notes that a slew of cottage industries are emerging to take advantage of this, revolving around things like rapid testing, ventilation, filters, and new COVID treatments.
“As we go through the five stages of grief, we have to get to the acceptance stage that our lives will not be the same,” said former CDC chief Thomas Frieden. “I don’t think the world has really absorbed that these are long-term changes.” Meanwhile:
- Schools: The AP reports that school administrators across the country have plans to continue remote learning in the fall, despite President Biden’s hopes to the contrary. For one thing, vaccines for children are a long way off.
- Re-infections: The log story notes that COVID appears to be mostly adept, in part because of its easy spread and mutation, and a separate story from the AP illustrates why. Evidence is growing that once infected people may not be safe from reinfection from any of the rapidly spreading variants, according to new research.
(Read more COVID-19 stories.)