New booster shots have arrived and social distancing guidelines have eased but COVID-19 infections aren’t going away anytime soon. Experts predict the scourge that’s already lasted longer than the 1918 flu pandemic will linger far into the future. Vaccines and protections are making the virus easier to live with — for now. But it is still killing more than 400 Americans every day, and it may well keep evolving in worrisome ways, such as becoming better able to get around immunity from vaccination and past infection. It’s possible it could also evolve to cause more serious disease.
EXPLAINER: Is COVID-19 winding down? Scientists say no.
