When will the COVID-19 pandemic end? Experts say it may not – KTVB.com

While the pandemic end, the coronavirus may become an epidemic, with hot spots popping up across the country, health experts say.

BOISE, Idaho Asking when the COVID-19 pandemic will be over may sound like asking "Are we there yet?" during a long drive. Sure, Central District Health and Idaho's other public health districts may have faded into the background during recent weeks but the country and the globe are still technically in a pandemic.

The World Health Organization was the first to announce that the world was in the midst of a pandemic in March of 2020. Sometime in the future, the WHO will be the body to announce when it's officially over.

However, there isn't a set standard to mark the end of the pandemic, either. Healthcare and medical experts point to vaccination rates as a guide to when the COVID-19 pandemic might end. If 75-80% of Americans get vaccinated against the coronavirus, it may soon end.

In Idaho, only 37% of 12 to 64-year-olds are fully vaccinated and 73% of people over the age of 65 are. Nationally, only 54% of Americans are fully vaccinated.

Another possibility that scientists are looking at is that the pandemic may morph into an endemic, meaning there is no end to COVID-19 and it would become much like the seasonal flu, where cases might spike in smaller areas and yearly vaccinations are needed to keep it at bay.

Of the 100 epidemiologists surveyed by "Nature," a scientific journal, 90% of them said the coronavirus will likely become endemic.

Reaching the goal of herd immunity to put an end to the coronavirus pandemic will need a combination of more people getting vaccinated and natural immunity lasting. It will also depend on how the virus mutates.

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When will the COVID-19 pandemic end? Experts say it may not - KTVB.com