57. What It Means If Covid-19 Becomes Endemic w/ Aris Katzourakis

Suddenly the word endemic is all over the media – perhaps it’s replacing “herd immunity” and “new normal” to put words to people’s hopes that the pandemic will end soon.  

But what does endemic mean and when will Covid-19 get there? I pose these questions to Aris Katzourakis, an expert in viral genomics and evolution at Oxford University, and author of a recent opinion piece in the journal Nature titled "Endemic Doesn’t Mean Harmless".  We also talk about how new variants come along, and what can be predicted about the evolution of the virus in the future. 

That said, there are signs everywhere that people in many parts of the world will soon stop reacting to Covid-19 as an emergency and settle into more normal activities as we recognize that we’re in this for the long haul.

“Follow the Science" is produced, written, and hosted by Faye Flam. Today’s episode was edited by Seth Gliksman with music by Kyle Imperatore. If you’d like to hear more "Follow the Science," please like, follow, and subscribe!