Endemic COVID-19

The observed behavior of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, suggests it is unlikely it will die out, and the lack of a COVID-19 vaccine that provides long-lasting immunity against infection means it cannot immediately be eradicated;[1] thus, transition to an endemic phase appears probable.

The severity of endemic disease would be dependent on various factors, including the evolution of the virus, population immunity, and vaccine development and rollout.

[6] Some politicians and commentators have conflated what they termed endemic COVID-19 with the lifting of public health restrictions or a comforting return to pre-pandemic normality.

[14] A March 2022 review said that it was "inevitable" the SARS-CoV-2 virus would become endemic to humans, and that it was essential to develop public health strategies to anticipate this.

[2] The largest determinant of how endemicity manifests is the level of immunity people have acquired, either as a result of vaccination or of direct infection.

The WHO's Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated that the pandemic's downward trend over the preceding year "has allowed most countries to return to life as we knew it before COVID-19", though cautioning that new variants could still pose a threat and that the conclusion of the current state of emergency did not mean that the COVID-19 is no longer a worldwide health concern.

[19] A 2023 editorial on endemicity in the International Nursing Review journal said that "Traps for unwary politicians and commentators include statements on scientific matters that fall well outside their knowledge and experience, and the danger of adopting and misusing esoteric terminology that has nuanced meanings within professional circles.

[21] By December 2021, endemicity was being represented in media as an opportunity that people should seize to "live with the virus" and achieve a "new normal".

[21] Media coverage has also objectified endemicity through the metaphor of a journey, especially as the destination at the end of "the path to normality".