Like all pandemics, that of COVID-19 will eventually end. But the million dollar question is...how? And what will that "endgame" look like?
A world without COVID is likely not a world in which we will exist, argues The Atlantic's Ed Yong. Instead, the pandemic will cease when almost everyone has immunity, "preferably because they were vaccinated or alternatively because they were infected and survived." Once that point is reached, the pandemic itself will "peter out," but COVID will live on, as an endemic virus that, as a result of vaccination and immunity, has become less of a problem.
"Before, it still felt possible that a really concerted effort could get us to a place where COVID-19 almost didn't exist anymore, said Eleanor Murray, an epidemiologist at Boston University. "But Delta has changed the game."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
To speed the pandemic's conclusion process along, "the world needs to stay alert," The Atlantic insists. Samuel Scarpino, an infectious disease expert, makes the case for a "nimble, comprehensive system that might include regular testing, wastewater monitoring, genetic sequencing, Google-search analyses, and more." The system, which could also be used for future pandemics, would track outbreaks and epidemics the same way meteorologists forecast storms and hurricanes. "My phone can tell me if I need to carry an umbrella, and I want it to tell me if I should put a mask on," Scarpino said.
As far as readying ourselves for the next pandemic goes, preventative measures like improving building ventilation or wearing masks when sick (not just with COVID) might help, writes Yong. Rather than allowing ourselves to feel defeated by the current surge, perhaps this is an opportunity to instead "rethink our attitudes about the viruses we allow ourselves to inhale." Read more at The Atlantic.
-
Should you add your child to your credit card?The Explainer You can make them an authorized user on your account in order to help them build credit
-
Cracker Barrel crackup: How the culture wars are upending corporate brandingIn the Spotlight Is it 'woke' to leave nostalgia behind?
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Rabbits with 'horns' sighted across Coloradospeed read These creatures are infected with the 'mostly harmless' Shope papilloma virus
-
Lithium shows promise in Alzheimer's studySpeed Read Potential new treatments could use small amounts of the common metal
-
Scientists discover cause of massive sea star die-offSpeed Read A bacteria related to cholera has been found responsible for the deaths of more than 5 billion sea stars
-
'Thriving' ecosystem found 30,000 feet underseaSpeed Read Researchers discovered communities of creatures living in frigid, pitch-black waters under high pressure
-
New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 yearsSpeed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study findsSpeed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
-
Breakthrough gene-editing treatment saves babyspeed read KJ Muldoon was healed from a rare genetic condition
-
Sea lion proves animals can keep a beatspeed read A sea lion named Ronan beat a group of college students in a rhythmic dance-off, says new study
