Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Simple steps for coexisting with the coronavirus

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(CNN)As we prepare to head into our second fall with the coronavirus, it's admittedly a strange time. On the one hand, the situation is better than last year, primarily because we have vaccines that are doing a terrific job of protecting the roughly 60% of Americans who are eligible and fully vaccinated, and to some extent, the additional 10% who have gotten their first dose.

But things are also worse, mainly because the very contagious and possibly more dangerous Delta variant currently makes up about 99% of the coronavirus in circulation in the United States. The Delta variant has caused an uptick in infections, hospitalizations and, sadly, deaths, especially in parts of the country where vaccination rates are lagging. To add to this worrying trend, serious disease requiring hospitalization is affecting younger and healthier age groups, including children.

What's becoming clear is that we, locally and globally, are not going to be able to stamp out the coronavirus completely. Experts predict it's going to become endemic, possibly joining the other four or so common cold coronaviruses in circulation.

"We're not going to eradicate this coronavirus like we've done with smallpox; it is something that I think is going to settle into a more seasonal pattern, like the flu and colds ..." said Linsey Marr, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech and an expert in the transmission of infectious diseases via aerosols.

"But right now, because it's novel and so many people are not immune to it, it's really ripping through the population. But I think five years from now, we will have much greater immunity either through vaccination or natural infection," she said.

That means we are going to have to learn to "dance" with the virus -- a safe co-existence -- without constantly stepping on each other's toes.


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