|
Endemic is an adjective used to describe when something is found in an environment in sustained and predictable amounts. You may hear descriptions of an endemic flower, animal, or virus in a particular area. Endemic “things” are found at consistent levels.
It would not be appropriate to describe a virus with increasing or decreasing cases, especially a new virus, like COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 as endemic. It would also be an incomplete description of an animal or tree that is undergoing changes in population in a geographic area, even if that species had been there for many years.
SARS-CoV-2 remains unpredictable in Philadelphia and most of the world. SARS-CoV-2 continues to cause significant disruption to health and society. Until most of the world’s population has developed some immunity to SARS-CoV-2, we will continue to see epidemics or high levels of disease in various places. Most experts think that it will be some time before we can adequately describe the state of COVID-19 as endemic.
Here's a longer explainer from Dear Pandemic, a multidisciplinary team of female scientists providing factual and easy to understand information on social media: Endemic Explainer
| 
