Experts highlight endemic status and low severity

Key Points:

• COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts are rising slightly with the fall and winter season, but hospitalizations, emergency visits, and deaths remain at record lows, and infected individuals are clearing the virus faster.
• Experts now view COVID as an endemic respiratory illness comparable in risk to the flu, with recent federal data showing similar death counts for COVID and influenza in the past year.
• Vaccination remains recommended, especially for high-risk groups such as seniors, pregnant women, and the immunocompromised, while healthy adults may not need repeated boosters according to some experts.
• Although the emergence of a significantly immune-evasive COVID variant is considered unlikely, experts warn that new coronaviruses could still appear due to human proximity to animal reservoirs like bats.
• Immunity from COVID may provide some protection against other related viruses, but vigilance and testing remain important for vulnerable populations to manage potential severe outcomes.