As cases decline in some parts of the country, many have begun to hope that this surge is the last big battle with the virus — that because of its unique characteristics, the Omicron variant will usher Americans out of the pandemic.
But in interviews with more than a dozen public health researchers, immunologists and evolutionary biologists, the course of the virus in the United States appeared more complicated — and a bit less rosy. “Maybe there was a short while where we could have reached that goal,” said Dr Shweta Bansal, an infectious disease modeler at Georgetown University. “But at this point, we are well beyond that.”
As of Wednesday, the United States was reporting more than 650,000 new cases daily, on average, down from more than 800,000 two weeks ago. Deaths continue to rise, at more than 2,300 per day, on average, but hospitalisations seem to be nearing a plateau, at about 155,000 per day, on average. In the long run, many of us might experience a mild infection every few years, as with coronaviruses that cause the common cold, but would not become seriously ill.
But the more contagious a variant, the higher the percentage of vaccinated people needed to reach the threshold. When the alpha variant surfaced, scientists revised the level to 90 per cent.IMPERFECT IMMUNITY If the population’s protection against the virus is weak or transient, as is possible, then Americans may continue to experience outbreaks large enough to flood hospitals for years. To contain them, people would have to line up for annual coronavirus shots, perhaps in the fall, as they do for flu shots.
Neither vaccines nor infections offer so-called sterilising immunity, meaning that the protection they offer appears to weaken over time. The protection gained from a Delta or Omicron infection may not be as effective against new variants, as the virus is changing unexpectedly quickly and in unusual ways.
Contrary to popular myth, the coronavirus is not guaranteed to transform into a milder form over time. A virus may evolve to be less virulent if it kills its hosts before it has been passed on to others, or if it runs out of hosts to infect. Neither is true of the coronavirus. Like the coronavirus, the flu is primarily a threat to certain groups — in this case, older adults, children under age five, and those with weaker immune systems.
All done. Find a new topic to focus on for the next two years
And it is STILL a pandemic of the unvaccinated. If the virus mutates into a deadly strain that can't be stopped with the current vaccine they can still kill all of us. Hopefully it won't happen. But do you like putting your fate in the hands of these urine drinking Idiots?
And it is STILL a pandemic of the unvaccinated. If the virus mutates into a deadly strain that can't be stopped with the current vaccine they can still kill all of us. Hopefully it won't happen. But do you like putting your fate in the hands of these unite drinking Idiots?
Precisely, cannot have herd immunity without very high vaccine rate. But maybe we will not have another vicious variant. Be nice to hear all clear signal from medical team.
Loosening?
How this deduction is made is foxing as much as ridiculous. There are more riddles than information on virus or vaccine. Don't mislead people until valid report on research is available,unless it is man made disaster as suspected
Great, let stop the bull crap and get back to normal.
I know one person that is 2xVax+Boost that has had omicron. There's a significant population that has avoid Covid, and they're just more food for the virus. We're nowhere near the end of the pandemic with omicron.2 being 1.5 times more infectious.
Please do a better job of using correct terminology. 'the coronavirus' includes everything from common cold to SARS-CoV-2. They are distinct. 'COVID-19 is caused by SARS-CoV-2, while the common cold is most often caused by rhinoviruses'
We chose our own adventure. It was not to listen to nytimes
Herd immunity is not a dream when so many people are immune from already having had Covid.
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