It might be 2026 or as soon as spring 2022. It could be any other time too. I hear one of my favourite phrases in my head, “It depends”.
Who will declare the pandemic is over? What criteria will be used? What will happen after? Has anyone thought this through? I am sure lot’s of people have considered the idea of this pandemic finishing. It will be interesting to see how that plays though.
Will some countries like New Zealand and Australia maintain a Moat status with frequent lockdowns for another 5 or 10 years? Denmark seems to have opened up internally, though there are still some border restrictions, which could end by November. The UK is fairly open and almost back to 2019 activity and freedom of movement.
So it depends on what the ruling parties want to see in each country, state, province, territory etc. Some leaders are aiming for zero new cases, some want zero hospitalizations or deaths. Other leaders are being more pragmatic and are ok with many cases as long as hospitalizations and deaths stay relatively low. Another view is the number of vaccinated people.
However, even if there was a 100% vaccination rate, people would still catch it and pass it on. The vaccine reduces symptoms and can aid in reduction of the spread but it does not stop the spread or eliminate Covid. So people will need to get their head around that. Perhaps comparing it to the seasonal flu and how we dealt with that would be possible for some. If not, prepare for masks, social distancing, semi-annual booster jabs, frequent testing, occasional lockdowns and stressful travel for the next 3,650 days.
When does the Covid pandemic end? It depends.
