INDIANAPOLIS — Two-and-a-half years into the COVID-19 pandemic, physicians expect the coronavirus to be a part of our lives for many more years.
13News checked in with Dr. Ram Yeleti, chief physician at Community Health Network, about the immediate future and what parents should know as they send their kids back to school.
According to Yeleti, it's OK to get back to normal, depending on a person's risk factors, noting that generally, kids are considered low risk. Yeleti said it's OK for students not to wear a mask or social distance this new school year.
What we are dealing with now compared to two years ago is very different, according to Yeleti. In fact, it's almost like two different viruses.
While Yeleti said more people are getting reinfected from omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, not nearly as many people are dying. Yeleti said only those who are considered very high risk, with other illnesses, are passing away.
"We always worry that getting COVID-19 is a bad thing, but getting reinfected is actually OK because it's just another infection, and your body already has some immunity to it," Yeleti said. "So, you may get sick, but more likely, it'll be more like a common cold, mild symptoms, that gets you down for a few days."
How these variants will mutate is what's unclear.
"There's going to be new vaccines coming out specifically for the BA.4 and BA.5 variant of omicron, but even by the time that comes, there's a likelihood that there will be a slightly different variant at that point," Yeleti said. "It continues to evolve. As we try to fight it, it tries to get better with it, so it's a back and forth that's going to continue to go for a while."
Similar to the flu, Yeleti said COVID-19 will continue to be more contagious but far less lethal.
"This is actually going to become just like the flu. It's going to be around for a long time, many, many, many years," Yeleti said. "The flu, the influenza came from 1918. This is going to become another flu-like endemic for several years to come. So, you'll end up every fall, you're going to get two shots, a flu shot and a coronavirus shot."
Yeleti said immunity from the virus or a booster shot can last anywhere between four and six months. Even after that time, people will have some immunity, which will continue to decrease.
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