This Is What Has to Happen Before Life Can Return to Normal

Our paths out of the pandemic

Markham Heid
Elemental

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Photo illustration (Getty Images): Andrew Brookes; Juan Gaertner/Science Photo Library; olaser

More than a year has passed since the novel coronavirus arrived in the United States. In many parts of the country, daily caseloads and deaths remain at or near their pandemic peaks.

But the prospect of a post-Covid future is real and potentially close at hand. The vaccines are here, and they are working. In Israel, where nearly half of the population has received at least one shot, vaccines appear to be limiting infections even more effectively than public health officials had hoped.

But exactly how and when will the U.S. emerge from the pandemic? When can we take off our masks, attend crowded indoor events, and freely hug our friends and loved ones? And what roadblocks still stand between us and that glimmering future?

Here, experts provide those answers. This is what has to happen for life in the U.S. to return to normal.

The vaccines must provide durable immunity

The arrival of safe, effective vaccines so soon after the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 is a testament to the power of medical science. And so far, the vaccines’ ability to prevent symptomatic illness has exceeded expectations. But two very big questions — and many small ones — remain…

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