How much longer will the pandemic continue for? Or is it already done?

[Calthrina950]

The question is as in the title. We are now in the latter half of November 2021, and the situation, with regards to the number of cases and deaths, is still serious. There are ~150,000 cases per day, ~1,000 deaths per day, and nearly 800,000 Americans have died of the virus. More Americans have now been infected by and died from COVID-19 then were infected by and died from the Spanish Flu a century ago.

So how much longer will the emergency continue for? Will the entire decade be defined by this? Vote in the poll and post your responses below.

[GregTheGreat657]

COVID will never be completely gone, though I doubt our medical and political leaders will ever realize that. COVID for the majority of the population isn't much worse than the flu, so we need to simply get back to normal, but still shelter the vulnerable and elderly more

[MATTROSE94]

COVID I think is already endemic when compared to how it was before. Still, I think some states such as Illinois, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, and New Mexico will keep their COVID restrictions in place for the next few years and also feel that some states such as New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Vermont, New Hampshire, Colorado, and California will bring back all of their COVID restrictions in about a week or two.

[progressive85]

For a few more years but gradual declines which allow the mask mandates to be lifted pretty much everywhere by the summer of 2022.  I pray we're out of the worst of it and I pray this Christmas for a miracle- no more COVID!

[JGibson]

Feels like it'll be another 6 months at least before it goes to endemic status.

[junior chįmp]

No pandemic here in Florida

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

COVID, imo, seems like it'll be much like the flu. New shots every year as it evolves. At this point there's not much else that can be done, and pretending like we can still eradicate it at this point is denying both how people are acting and how widespread it is now. It's still worth having restrictions in place for the next couple months as we get vaccines to those who want it in order to better protect those who can't get the shot. After that, if someone doesn't want the vaccine they can deal with it. Only reason I don't think that's a good idea now is because of the immuno-compromised possibly becoming victims.

[Dr. MB]

Until the people in charge decide it’s over. “The pandemic” as a mindset is all about perception and has nothing to do with case rates or transmission rates or death rates.

[West_Midlander]

If Fauci has his way it will never be over.

[Calthrina950]

Until the people in charge decide it’s over. “The pandemic” as a mindset is all about perception and has nothing to do with case rates or transmission rates or death rates.

By this, I'm assuming that you mean public health officials and agencies (i.e., Dr. Fauci, the CDC, the FDA), along with governors (predominantly Democrats), Biden himself, and other influential figures within the Administration and Congress. This is to say nothing of the pharmaceutical giants such as Pfizer, Moderna, and J & J.

[LAKISYLVANIA]

It will never be over, but it has been used as a reason to make every democratic nation more authoritarian.

Until the people in charge decide it’s over. “The pandemic” as a mindset is all about perception and has nothing to do with case rates or transmission rates or death rates.

The people in charge like authoritarianism, so the only way to decide it's over, is by ousting them, either by force or by democratically voting them out.

[YE]

It’s over for the vaccinated to the extent that it’s a serious public health hazard. A breakthrough infection in itself is not a serious public health hazard contrary to whatever liberal doomers may think.

[Xing]

It’s been fading into endemic status, and will probably complete that transition for 95% or more of the population by some time early next year.

[Sir Mohamed]

Endemic, but is still a pandemic in large parts of the world. Especially areas with low immunity rate, either due vaccine hesitancy, lack of vaccine availability and not enough people catched the virus for herd immunity. Later unfortunately is at 85-90% with the Delta variant; with the "original virus" it was just 65-70%.

[Ferguson97]

The COVID-19 pandemic is basically finished in the United States. At this point, if the unvaccinated want to die to own the libs that's not our problem. Just give vaccinated people priority in hospitals.

[Del Tachi]

Most sane people have already concluded that the pandemic is over.  According to Google Trends, news stories mentioning "Covid" are down almost 80 percent from their October 2020 highs. 

[RINO Tom]

It's quite obviously endemic ... you will likely continue to see a wide array of responses to that reality, ranging from people who will still refuse to go home for the holidays this year and/or socially distance to moving on with their lives already.

[Calthrina950]

With the emergence of the Omicron variant, I wonder what views are about this now.

[ElectionsGuy]

It's become endemic and has been for a while. However, the politics and the social controls from the pandemic, continue on as long as irrational risk assessment and authoritarianism plague a large enough percentage of the population.

[VBM]

The pandemic is already over for anyone who isn’t a paranoid hypochondriac or virtue signaling hack