The coronavirus pandemic could last two years, a group of experts said in a new report.
What’s the news:
- A group of experts said in a new report that the coronavirus pandemic could last as long as two years. And it won’t be fully under control until two-thirds of the world’s population has become immune to it, according to Bloomberg.
- The virus could be hard to control — especially compared to the flu or other sicknesses — because it can spread between people who don’t appear to have any symptoms, according to the report, which was filed from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
- As I’ve reported before, research has shown people are most infectious two to three days before the symptoms begin to appear.
- The wave of the coronavirus could last until 2022, the report said.
- The experts wrote: “Risk communication messaging from government officials should incorporate the concept that this pandemic will not be over soon, and that people need to be prepared for possible periodic resurgences of disease over the next two years.”
What this means for the U.S.
- The report comes as states across the country begin to reopen businesses and ease restrictions on social distancing. For example, Utah plans to move from high to moderate risk for COVID-19 as the death toll hit 46, Wendy Leonard reported.
- Social distancing may indeed last through the year, too. Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus task force coordinator, suggested that social distancing may last through the summer if not longer, according to The Washington Post.
- Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, has said there may be doses of a COVID-19 vaccine by January, according to NPR.