Is a 'predictable' and 'manageable' phase of COVID finally upon us?

While the COVID-19 pandemic (unfortunately) has yet to come to an end, America may be entering a new phase of the crisis, Axios argues, "one in which the country's overall experience with this virus will be less like having a heart attack, and more like managing a lifelong chronic condition."
In some ways, the transition to "endemic" COVID – meaning the virus will become a "predictable, manageable" part of our lives — is already here, Axios says, positing that though the disease is here to stay, the "worst of the pandemic is likely behind us."
The U.S. is, at the moment, averaging about 74,000 new infections daily, a "4 percent increase of the past two weeks," per Axios. And when analyzing individual states, only 4 would qualify as having a low rate of transmission according to CDC guidelines.
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.
Despite that, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said recently that "we're close to the end of the pandemic phase of the virus," though former White House COVID adviser Andy Slavitt disagreed and called for an end to the speculation.
But here's the rub — the end of COVID's "pandemic phase" won't mean the end of COVID infections. There will still be breakthrough cases (though less severe) and winter outbreaks (though hopefully not as big or as deadly as before).
And the framework for this state of play, Axios argues, has already arrived. So, as long as "no new variant emerges," (which is of course possible, but not yet an immediate threat), "we have a pretty good idea of where we're headed, and that overall landscape isn't likely to change too dramatically." Read more at Axios.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
The state of Britain's Armed Forces
The Explainer Geopolitical unrest and the unreliability of the Trump administration have led to a frantic re-evaluation of the UK's military capabilities
By The Week UK
-
Anti-anxiety drug has a not-too-surprising effect on fish
Under the radar The fish act bolder and riskier
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
Sudoku hard: April 21, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influence
Speed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Five years on: How Covid changed everything
Feature We seem to have collectively forgotten Covid’s horrors, but they have completely reshaped politics
By The Week US
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreads
Speed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015
Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozens
Speed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study finds
Speed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
By Peter Weber, The Week US