COVID-19 Isn't Going Anywhere, Experts Say

It looks like COVID-19 is making its presence permanent, according to multiple health experts.

COVID-19 technical lead for the World Health Organization (WHO) Health Emergencies Program Dr. Maria Van Kherkhove said Wednesday that the virus is “on its way” to becoming endemic, meaning it will persist in our population and settle to a constant rate of occurrence, emphasizing the growth of immunity.

“Everyone has stopped talking about getting rid of COVID,” Dr. Elizabeth Halloran, an epidemiologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said, as reported by NBC News. “It’s not going away, and that means it’s going to be endemic.”

New Mexico health officials Dr. Laura Parajon and Dr. Christine Ross said that while COVID-19’s ability to mutate will prove to be a nuisance to society for quite some time, experts are continually working on ways to fight the virus.

“It appears that we’re not going to see the virus contained or eradicated,” Ross said. “We will have to continue to learn how to live with it.”