Our immunity should protect us “from the worst of what we saw before.” “We’re not likely to go back to where we were because there’s so much of the virus that our immune systems can recognize,” Ray said. Masks and “social distancing” later gave way to showing proof of vaccination. That extreme vulnerability forced measures aimed at “flattening the curve.” Businesses and schools closed, and weddings and funerals were postponed. Matthew Binnicker, an expert in viral infections at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said the world is in “a very different situation today than we were three years ago – where there was, in essence, zero existing immunity to the original virus.” Many of those changes have made it more contagious, but the worst is likely over because of population immunity. That means about 1% of the virus’ genome is different from its starting point. Stuart Campbell Ray, an infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins, said the current omicron variants have about 100 genetic differences from the original coronavirus strain. The achievements add up to a new normal where COVID-19 “doesn’t need to be at the forefront of people’s minds,” said Natalie Dean, an assistant professor of biostatistics at Emory University. “The pandemic really catalyzed some amazing science,” said Friedrich. We continue to monitor how the virus is changing by looking for it in wastewater. We built mathematical models to get ready for worst-case scenarios. Humans unlocked the virus’ genetic code and rapidly developed vaccines that work remarkably well. “I wish we united against the enemy – the virus – instead of against each other,” Topol said. Resistance to stay-at-home orders and vaccine mandates may be the pandemic’s legacy. Trust has eroded in public health agencies, furthering an exodus of public health workers. Consider that in the United States, daily hospitalizations and deaths, while lower than at the worst peaks, have not yet dropped to the low levels reached during the summer 2021 before the delta variant wave.Īt any moment, the virus could change to become more transmissible, more able to sidestep the immune system, or more deadly. We’ve become numb to the daily death toll, Topol says, but we should view it as too high. Eric Topol, head of Scripps Research Translational Institute in California. “Whatever the virus is doing today, it’s still working on finding another winning path,” said Dr. It spreads easily from person to person, riding respiratory droplets in the air, killing some victims but leaving most to bounce back without much harm. With the pandemic still killing 900 to 1,000 people a day worldwide, the stealthy virus behind COVID-19 hasn’t lost its punch.
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