When will the COVID-19 pandemic end? Experts say there's no 'satisfying answer'

With a sixth wave of COVID-19 infections already hitting parts of Canada, many may be left wondering when exactly the pandemic will come to an end. However, experts say this question remains a tough one to answer.

As a result, many Canadians may be left wondering how many more of these waves to expect, and exactly when the pandemic will end. Experts, however, say these questions remains tough to answer.

“Unfortunately, I don't think there's a satisfying answer in that we don't really know because it depends on a few variables,” Dr. Susy Hota, medical director for infection prevention and control at the Toronto-based University Health Network, told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview on Wednesday. “I don't think we can see into the future enough to understand the directions we’re going in for each of those variables.”

Dr. Matthew Oughton, an infectious disease specialist at the Jewish General Hospital and McGill University in Montreal, said it’s reasonable to expect that SARS-CoV-2 won’t completely disappear. Instead, it will likely continue to emerge in waves, he said, particularly among those who remain unvaccinated. It’s also possible that it will develop into a seasonal disease, circulating more frequently between November and March, similar to cold and flu season, Oughton said.

“During that season … that's when we would tend to see a much higher prevalence of those respiratory infections [and] we may well see something similar to that with SARS-CoV-2,” Oughton told CTVNews.ca on Wednesday in a phone interview. “I don't think it's going to be gone, gone.”