Scientists: It's Crucial For COVID To Move From Pandemic To Endemic

Scientists think COVID outbreaks will continue to flare up sometimes. But we'll learn to live with that risk.

From the plague in the middle ages to doctors fighting infectious disease in the twentieth century, deadly viruses have continually shaped human history.

Viral outbreaks can take one of three paths. Some outbreaks flare up but then flame out before they do much harm.

In 2003, researchers discovered the SARS virus infecting patients in Asia. Its origin was probably from bats. It was a similar story with MERS – beginning in 2012. It passed from camels to humans in the Middle East. But it didn't spread easily between people, so the worst case scenario was averted.