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Last April, Delta Airlines received backlash after announcing that the COVID-19 infections already transitioned into a more ordinary virus that appears in seasons. The transportation enterprise immediately took down its statement following the comments from numerous public health specialists.

Rockefeller Foundation's Pandemic Prevention Institute senior adviser and epidemiology expert Malaty River explained that an ordinary virus does not have a typical capability to cause 1 million deaths in the US in just a couple of years.

Seasonal Flu and Overdispersion

Although the relief from the global crisis is gradually being felt, the SARS-CoV-2 infection remains far more common than influenza we experience in some seasons. The cases, although predictable, could surge anytime within a year. Transmissions are not controllable, and there are still stronger variants that could actually take the lives of many individuals.

This year, most people already regard the coronavirus infection as seasonal flu in a subtle manner. The association was induced by the solutions we have today, making the problem more treatable than it was during the first few months of the pandemic.

Among the most intriguing subjects during the pandemic is how the coronavirus is passed from person to person. A previous study led by scientists from Hong Kong reveals that the newest cases of infection involve 80 percent that was initiated by only 10 to 20 superspreading events.

The baffling transmission is known in the medical community as 'overdispersion.' This phenomenon could serve as a measure of how a wide scale pathogen transmission occurs and could be a crucial key to constructing initiatives that prevent further cases in the future.

In a separate study carried out by experts from the Tohoku University's Graduate School of Medicine, data showed that transmission is more likely to occur between people who stay in places with poor ventilation.

Ease in COVID Cases, Pandemic Still at Large

The newest observations from Tohoku's team revealed that more cases are now occurring in areas that were supposed to be safe, including households and nursing homes. Separate studies also found that the phenomenon influenced the curb in Norway and the United States, particularly during the rise of the omicron variant.

Infectious disease specialist and Japan's public health adviser Hitoshi Oshitani, who also led the Tohoku study, explained that the omicron variant is quite different from the previous strains we had. With that said, the overdispersion could result in various outcomes, and more studies should be done in order to identify the factors of the event.

The surge of the BA.2 strain also shows signs of changes in the behavior of the coronavirus behaviors.

Johns Hopkins University epidemiology expert Emily Gurley explained that, based on the records of previous surges, it can be concluded that the susceptibility of the population might be the primary driver of the COVID-19 spread compared to the viral behaviors.

Immunological diversity could also be a factor in how most of us already survived the pandemic. Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health expert William Hanage said in a STAT News report that although gatherings are only minor components of the spread, a super spreading event is still possible to occur.

Hanage added that, amidst studies, there is no conclusive idea as to what the virus is going to do next. The pandemic will come to an end, but not in a way that most people think it will be done, the expert continued.

Check out more news and information on COVID-19 in Science Times.