How could the coronavirus outbreak end? Here’s what health experts have to say
As coronavirus spreads across the world, quarantines and cleaning are used to try to curb the infection rate.
But with a growing number of cases, how could the outbreak stop?
Health experts have a few ideas.
In one scenario, the COVID-19 outbreak could become a pandemic that ends after enough people get sick and become immune to the disease, Aubree Gordon of the University of Michigan told Live Science.
Another possibility is that the disease tapers off because enough people are vaccinated against it, said Gordon, an associate epidemiology professor, according to the website’s report last month.
But right now, there’s no vaccine to protect against the disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
While potential vaccines are being developed, they’re still in the trial phase, according to the World Health Organization.
But there’s a silver lining.
“As with all past outbreaks, this one will eventually come to an end,” Live Science reports.
So what else could happen?
If the virus becomes a pandemic, it then “could quite possibly settle down into a respiratory illness that comes back seasonally,” Stephen Morse of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University told STAT, a health publication from Boston Globe Media.
There’s also the potential that public health efforts could cause the outbreak to slow down while treatments are being researched, Vox reported last month.
“New cases in China are now declining thanks to the government’s dramatic measures to contain the virus — mainly case finding, contact tracing, and suspension of public gatherings,” Bruce Aylward of the World Health Organization told the media outlet.
Another possibility is that the spread slows in summer months, but the chances of that happening are still up in the air, said Maimuna Majumder, a Harvard epidemiologist, according to Vox.
To stay healthy, CDC says people can avoid exposure, wash their hands and disinfect their homes. Sick people should stay home and use a tissue while coughing or sneezing, health officials say.
Nationwide, the CDC reported 423 coronavirus cases and 19 deaths as of Monday. The virus is in 34 states and the District of Columbia, health officials say.
This story was originally published March 9, 2020 at 1:19 PM with the headline "How could the coronavirus outbreak end? Here’s what health experts have to say."
