How will the coronavirus outbreak end?

The outbreak will eventually end, even if Omicron is complicating the question of when. But it's not as simple as flipping a light switch: the world has to learn to live with a virus that won't go away.

The highly infectious Omicron mutation has pushed the number of new cases to a record high and caused chaos. But this time, instead of 2020, we're starting from scratch.

Vaccines offer strong protection against severe complications, even if they do not always protect against mild infections. Omicron does not appear to be as deadly as some earlier variants. And those who are infected and recover will have some new protection in the future against other forms of the virus that are still circulating -- perhaps the next mutation will also emerge.

The Novel Coronavirus will certainly be with us forever. We will never eradicate or eliminate COVID-19, so we have to decide what our goals are."

To become endemic, "some acceptable stable state."One possible future scenario, many experts believe, is that in the post-pandemic period, the virus could cause some people to catch a cold and others to develop more severe illness, depending on their general health, vaccination status and previous infections. Mutations will continue and may eventually require frequently updated strengthening pins to better match the new variant.

Predict that one day someone will catch the Novel Coronavirus and stay at home for two or three days, "and then you can move on with your life." Hopefully this will be the end.