Recent history has shown that pandemics can last for several years. It’s possible the virus could still mutate into something potentially worse, overriding immunity provided by vaccines or past infection.
that began in 1889 for clues to how the COVID-19 pandemic may turn out — since some scientists suspect that pandemic was actually caused by a coronavirus rather than a flu virus.
“From these data, one might deduce a protracted five-year course for a COVID-19-like pandemic, suggesting that COVID-19 might occupy us well beyond 2022 if the current vaccination campaigns does not change its ‘natural’ trajectory,” Brüssow wrote. That’s why it’s so important to be ready for a worst case scenario, such as being able to meticulously monitor new surges, ramp up wastewater tracking of the virus, improve air filtration and work on a variant-proof vaccine, Topol wrote.
UC San Francisco is on track to allow more staff, faculty and students to work on-site starting March 1. The campus is retaining a universal indoor mask mandate, except for people alone in an office or in a vehicle or while eating or drinking, Chancellor Sam Hawgood said in a town hall on Friday. California is still more than 200 COVID-19 deaths a day, the highest rate in 11 months, according to The Times’ COVID-19Nationwide, daily cases on a per capita basis are still quite high in places like Florida — especially in the state’s panhandle region, southern Texas, the Appalachians, in some parts of the Rocky Mountains, Rutherford said.