It is likely that COVID-19 is going to stick around. My prediction is that as levels of immunity increase – both from natural infection and vaccination – the virus will eventually become
globally endemic. It will continue circulating in populations, causing periodic outbreaks much like
the four seasonal coronaviruses that are already endemic in humans. How severe infections will be, or the size of outbreaks, is anyone’s guess, and will largely depend on the effectiveness of interventions, including vaccination.
The likelihood is that we are going to have to learn to live with SARS-CoV-2. We can keep an eye on the variants circulating in different parts of the world and update the vaccines accordingly. It might mean getting a booster vaccine once a year or so as the tussle between our immune systems and the virus continues.
One thing is clear though – we have never before been in a situation where we know so much about a virus, can watch it changing and respond to it rapidly. A huge scientific effort has gone into making this possible and it leaves me optimistic that we will get through this.