The next six months will determine what will happen to the COVID-19 pandemic after various vaccine developers have released their own version of COVID-19 vaccines. Whether they would be effective and give immunity to the people or fail is crucial right now.
So what will happen if all the vaccines do work and give people immunity against COVID-19? Will our lives go back as to how it was in the past? Or will the new normal continue?
Although it might be hard to believe that the pandemic will end, data from previous coronaviruses tells that like the previous pandemics. This too will end in the future. However, that does not mean that the SARS-CoV-2 will completely disappear because it is difficult to eradicate an infectious disease even with a highly effective vaccine.
What Would Happen to COVID-19 After the Pandemic?
COVID-19 is Not Going Away
According to a recent study published in the journal Science, it is most likely that COVID-19 will not go away in the future. Instead, it will morph into a seasonal disease like a cold or the yearly influenza bug.
The researchers of the study reviewed how other coronaviruses in the past to better understand how the new coronavirus might behave in the future. Out of the six known coronaviruses, four of them can cause the common cold, while the other two, called SARS and MERS, are deadlier like SARS-CoV-2.
While SARs and MERS are largely contained and never really spread across the globe like the magnitude of SARS-CoV-2, the four coronaviruses have become endemic in many places worldwide as they regularly make their way through populations and spread easily that they can not be contained.
The researchers used the characteristics of the four endemic coronaviruses to create a model that will tell what might happen to SARS-CoV-2 in the coming years. Their study showed that the more children under five years old are exposed to the novel coronavirus, they will have a better immune response, and the lesser severe case they will get, Popular Science reported.
Moreover, these children now gain immunity against the virus, which will help them handle it compared to adults when it first appeared during the pandemic.
The study predicts that once more people get vaccinated or exposed to the virus, SARS-CoV-2 will eventually also become an endemic virus that will mainly affect kids under five years old in the form of a relatively benign sickness.
ALSO READ: Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine: Here's What You Need to Know
How Long Will the Immunity From COVID-19 Vaccine Last?
According to the CDC, it would take a few weeks for the body to build immunity against COVID-19 after vaccination. That means it is still possible to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 just after getting vaccinated and still get sick because the vaccine has not enough time yet to provide protection.
The vaccine works by teaching the immune system to recognize the SARS-CoV-2 so that it knows how to fight the virus that causes COVID-19 and protect the body from getting sick.
But of course, none of the vaccines available yet are 100% effective at preventing COVID-19. For now, following the health guidelines is still necessary to avoid getting infected.
READ MORE: COVID-19 Vaccine: Should People With an Autoimmune Disease Get a Shot?
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