How Will the Pandemic End?
2022-01-18
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1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
2Pandemics do end, even if Omicron is making it difficult to know when.
3But when it does, it will not completely go away.
4The world will have to learn to live with this virus. Luckily, there are some defenses now.
5Vaccines offer strong protection from serious illness, even if they do not always prevent a mild infection.
6Omicron does not appear to be as deadly as some earlier variants.
7Those who survive will have some increased protection against other forms of the virus.
8Dr. Albert Ko is an infectious disease specialist at the Yale School of Public health.
9He said the newest variant is a warning about what will continue to happen "unless we really get serious about the endgame."
10Ko added that COVID will be with us permanently.
11He said that the world will never be free of COVID, so we have to know our goals.
12The World Health Organization will decide when enough countries have controlled their COVID cases, or at least hospitalizations and deaths, to declare the end of the pandemic.
13Exactly what that means is not clear.
14Even when that happens, some parts of the world will still struggle, like poorer nations that lack enough vaccines or treatments.
15Other countries will change into some sort of acceptable state to deal with COVID-19.
16Stephen Kissler is an infectious disease expert of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
17He says he believes the world will reach a state where COVID is like another infectious disease, the flu.
18COVID-19 has killed more than 800,000 Americans in two years while the flu kills between 12,000 and 52,000 a year.
19Exactly how much continuing COVID-19 illness and death the world will accept is largely a social question, not a scientific one.
20People will have to decide how much risk they can accept in their normal lives.
21Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top United States infectious disease expert, is looking ahead to controlling the virus in a way that does not affect daily life and the economy.
22The U.S. is showing signs that it is on the road to the new normal.
23The Biden administration says there are enough tools, like vaccines, treatments, and face coverings, to deal with Omicron without the shutdowns of the pandemic's earlier days.
24Dr. William Moss of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health expects "this virus will kind of max out" in its ability to create more dangerous variants.
25He says he believes there will not be endless new variants.
26Many experts say after the pandemic, the virus will cause minor illness for some and more serious illness for others, depending on their general health.
27Mutations will continue and might require newer vaccines.
28The human body will also get better at recognizing and fighting against the virus as time goes on.
29Ali Ellebedy is a doctor that studies the immune system, which protects the body from diseases and infections.
30He is an immunologist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
31Ellebedy said the protection our bodies have gained has improved so much that there will be a drop in severe illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths, even with new variants.
32He says he believes there will be a day when someone gets a coronavirus infection, they stay home two to three days and then "...move on. That hopefully will be the endgame."
33And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.
34I'm Anna Matteo.
1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report. 2Pandemics do end, even if Omicron is making it difficult to know when. But when it does, it will not completely go away. The world will have to learn to live with this virus. Luckily, there are some defenses now. 3Vaccines offer strong protection from serious illness, even if they do not always prevent a mild infection. Omicron does not appear to be as deadly as some earlier variants. Those who survive will have some increased protection against other forms of the virus. 4Dr. Albert Ko is an infectious disease specialist at the Yale School of Public health. He said the newest variant is a warning about what will continue to happen "unless we really get serious about the endgame." 5Ko added that COVID will be with us permanently. He said that the world will never be free of COVID, so we have to know our goals. 6The World Health Organization will decide when enough countries have controlled their COVID cases, or at least hospitalizations and deaths, to declare the end of the pandemic. Exactly what that means is not clear. 7Even when that happens, some parts of the world will still struggle, like poorer nations that lack enough vaccines or treatments. Other countries will change into some sort of acceptable state to deal with COVID-19. 8Stephen Kissler is an infectious disease expert of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He says he believes the world will reach a state where COVID is like another infectious disease, the flu. 9COVID-19 has killed more than 800,000 Americans in two years while the flu kills between 12,000 and 52,000 a year. 10Exactly how much continuing COVID-19 illness and death the world will accept is largely a social question, not a scientific one. People will have to decide how much risk they can accept in their normal lives. 11Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top United States infectious disease expert, is looking ahead to controlling the virus in a way that does not affect daily life and the economy. 12The U.S. is showing signs that it is on the road to the new normal. The Biden administration says there are enough tools, like vaccines, treatments, and face coverings, to deal with Omicron without the shutdowns of the pandemic's earlier days. 13Dr. William Moss of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health expects "this virus will kind of max out" in its ability to create more dangerous variants. He says he believes there will not be endless new variants. 14Many experts say after the pandemic, the virus will cause minor illness for some and more serious illness for others, depending on their general health. Mutations will continue and might require newer vaccines. The human body will also get better at recognizing and fighting against the virus as time goes on. 15Ali Ellebedy is a doctor that studies the immune system, which protects the body from diseases and infections. He is an immunologist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Ellebedy said the protection our bodies have gained has improved so much that there will be a drop in severe illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths, even with new variants. 16He says he believes there will be a day when someone gets a coronavirus infection, they stay home two to three days and then "...move on. That hopefully will be the endgame." 17And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. 18I'm Anna Matteo. 19Lauran Neergaard and Carla K. Johnson reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 20______________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22pandemic - n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world 23variant - n. something that is different in some way from others of the same kind 24endgame - n. the final stage of some action or process 25max out - phr. v. to reach an upper limit: to come to the highest level possible 26mutation - n. a change in the genes of a plant or animal that causes physical characteristics that are different from what is normal