Scientists say they know when COVID-19 pandemic will be over

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – March 11, 2020, marks a day in history we will never forget.

COVID-19 swept the world and was officially declared a pandemic, and, nearly two and a half years later, it still is. 

So, when will we be able to put COVID-19 behind us?

In a mathematical study, researchers at Yale School of Medicine collected data on re-infection rates of a coronavirus similar to the common cold in rats. They modeled the exposure scenario of what happened so that it resembled the current COVID circulation and exposure to people in the United States. 

The result? It will take another two years. 

“Coronaviruses are very unpredictable, so there could be a mutation that makes it more pathogenic,” said lead study author Dr. Caroline Zeiss in a statement. “The more likely scenario, though, is that we see an increase in transmissibility and probable decrease in pathogenicity.”

By this, Zeiss means, COVID will still be transmitted between people but it will unlikely cause severe illness, much like the common cold.