An update to the national COVID-19 plan was just announced, with the goal of managing the virus so that most Americans may resume their normal lives. The country is transitioning from a "pandemic" to an "endemic" phase of the COVID-19 danger.

It implies that the virus will most certainly continue to spread in the population, but at low rates or just during certain seasons. The new plan should give us reason to be optimistic. However, we must temper our enthusiasm with a good dosage of prudence.

"As we move toward a COVID-controlled life, it'll be ever-important to assess for real-time changes in the virus and its community impact because we know just how unpredictable this virus can be," Dr. Atul Nakhasi, an internist at the Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital, echoed this sentiment. 

How Can COVID-19 be an Endemic?

How can we tell if it's safe to take off our masks and continue our daily routine? What signs should we be looking for to see whether we need to re-establish social distance? Here are five signs that may help us find solutions:

1. Case numbers - Though vaccination is important in reducing the number of cases, it is not the only strategy to achieve this goal. COVID-19 infection causes most people to develop some level of immunity to the virus.

2. Hospitalizations - If hospitalizations continue to decline while remaining steady, this indicates endemicity. The CDC has shifted its attention from case statistics to hospitalizations.

3. Death rates - Death rates are one indicator of the virus's intensity, according to Jodie Guest, an epidemiologist at Emory University. According to Guest, the virus has entered the endemic phase if there are less than 100 COVID-19 fatalities per day across the country.

4. Wastewater samples - According to data from the CDC's National Wastewater Surveillance System, virus levels have reduced in 70% of wastewater facilities compared to two weeks before, indicating that COVID-19 infections are on the decline.

5. Outbreak clusters - If there's one thing we've learned about COVID-19, it's that it's extremely contagious. As a result, public health professionals must be able to recognize clusters of outbreaks in schools and workplaces, which are likely to indicate increased disease levels, according to ABC News.

John Barry, a Tulane University researcher who published the authoritative history of the 1918 influenza pandemic, "The Great Influenza," said, "This time around it confirmed the lesson from 1918: you tell the truth.

What effect does the uncertainty about the continually changing science have on trust and compliance? (Dr. Anthony Fauci's comments on March 8, 2020, "There's no reason to be walking around with a mask," vs. Fauci's support for community COVID procedures, "the flagship of which is wearing a mask," on Oct. 29, 2020.)

"You know, trust, truth, they're all interconnected," Barry said.

A medical anthropologist at San Francisco State University, Martha Lincoln, believes 1918 amnesia will recur. "We're already forgetting, even before the pandemic is over. We're already forgetting the pandemic. I foresee, at best, a long struggle about whether we will remember, really, at all, and if we remember, what that memory will be," as per CBS News.

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Despite Low Cases, COVID-19 Causes Another Post-Symptoms

The number of COVID-19 cases is decreasing, and life is beginning to return to normal. But according to research conducted by RNA-virus expert Lee Gehrke of MIT and Stanford University otolaryngologist Konstantina Stankovic of Stanford University was recently published, hearing loss, ringing in the ears, and other inner-ear issues are all linked to coronavirus infection.

This is no little matter, as hearing loss and balance disorders caused by inner-ear infection can be rather significant. But, as Stankovic pointed out, such issues were frequently disregarded during the peak of the pandemic in 2020-21, as clinicians focused on keeping acute COVID-19 patients alive.

Medical research will increasingly focus on the residual effects of patients who have survived episodes of COVID-19 as the coronavirus settles into an endemic stage, becoming less lethal and more controllable due to population immunity and established therapies. According to studies, up to 40% of persons who recover from a coronavirus infection continue to have severe symptoms such as tiredness, clouded memory, and joint pain for weeks or months thereafter.

This appears to be the case with hearing issues. According to the researchers, these symptoms, known as "long COVID," maybe permanent in certain patients.

Another recent study revealed that "hearing loss in the COVID-19 age is one of the increasing areas of concern," and its authors, like Gehrke and Stankovic, advocate greater research to allow for "better understanding and treatment," East Oregonian reported.

Related Article: COVID-19 Vaccine Update: Experts Speak Out on Effectivity of Booster Shot, Possible Need for 2nd

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