Dr. Stephanie Silvera Confident Pandemic will Change to Endemic
Posted in: College News and Events, Master of Public Health News, Public Health
COVID-19 will be around for years to come, but as more people get vaccinated, it likely will become more like the flu, hospitalizing and killing some of the most vulnerable but not posing a major threat for most people, experts say.
Dr. Stephanie Silvera, Professor in the Public Health Department, added, “There will be a certain background level of COVID that will be expected, but it will move from pandemic to endemic.” When that will occur is difficult to forecast, because of so many unknowns, including future vaccination rates, she said.
Dr. Silvera predicted that, as with the flu, there one day could be annual COVID-19 shots, with adjustments to the vaccine to respond to different variants. And, like the flu, COVID-19 might be more severe some years than others, with cases higher during colder weather, when people spend more time indoors, she said.
For people not vaccinated against the coronavirus, COVID-19 is far more deadly than the flu, and it will remain that way, Dr. Silvera said.