endemic covid-19 endemic covid-19 as of may 2023, covid-19 is a pandemic, but could become endemic in a future phase. the observed behavior of sars-cov-2, the virus that causes covid-19, suggests it is unlikely it will die out, and the lack of a covid-19 vaccine that provides long-lasting immunity against infection means it cannot immediately be eradicated; thus a future transition to an endemic phase appears probable. in the endemic phase, people would continue to become infected and ill, but in relatively stable numbers. precisely what would constitute an endemic phase is contested. part of a series on thecovid-19 pandemicscientifically accurate atomic model of the external structure of sars-cov-2. each "ball" is an atom. covid-19 (disease) sars-cov-2 (virus) cases deaths timeline 2019 2020 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november responses december responses 2021 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november responses december responses 2022 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november december 2023 january february march april may locations by country and territory africa antarctica asia europe north america oceania south america by conveyance cruise ships naval ships international response endemic phase evacuations face masks international aid investigations into origin lockdowns by country misinformation by governments fake treatments social distancing software travel united nations world health organization wto ip waiver undercounting of deaths covid-19 apps zero-covid national responses africa china european union germany ghana india ireland netherlands new zealand nigeria philippines russia sweden uk government us federal government vietnam medical response disease testing breathalyzer development drug development drug repurposing public health mitigation vaccines history research vitt deployment authorizations operation warp speed misinformation and hesitancy us vaccine card vaccine passports current vaccines coronavac covaxin convidecia janssen medigen moderna novavax oxford–astrazeneca pfizer–biontech sinopharm bibp sputnik v variants variants of concern alpha beta gamma delta omicron other variants epsilon zeta eta theta iota kappa lambda mu cluster 5 lineage b.1.617 economic impact and recession arts and culture aviation cannabis cinema films disney fashion financial markets food industry food security journalism music performing arts retail shipping television us sportscasting programs tourism video games by country canada india ireland malaysia new zealand russia uk us by sport association football baseball basketball combat sports cricket disc golf gaelic games gridiron football ice hockey motorsport rugby league impacts animals black people crime death rates by country disability domestic violence emergency evacuations education female environment hospitals language lgbt community long-term care media coverage mental health symptoms migration military notable deaths other health issues politics diplomacy popular culture protests pregnancy prisons religion catholic church hajj science and technology social media strikes suicides telehealth xenophobia and racism society ireland malaysia new zealand russia uk us covid-19 portal on may 5, 2023, the world health organization ended the public health emergency of international concern regarding covid-19, but still considered it a pandemic. since 2021, some politicians and health officials in some countries have said that covid-19 is endemic locally or that their country was beginning to transition to an endemic phase: indonesia, malaysia, mexico, the philippines, singapore and vietnam. background there is no single agreed definition of what it means for covid-19 to become endemic. according to historian jacob steere-williams, what endemicity means has evolved since the 19th century and the desire to label covid-19 as being endemic in early 2022 was a political and cultural phenomenon connected to a desire to see the pandemic as being over. in january 2022, paleovirologist aris katzourakis wrote that the word "endemic" is one of the most misused of the covid-19 pandemic, and that it is dangerously complacent to assume that covid-19 endemicity is inevitable, or that it means the disease will necessarily become less of a threat to public health. international nursing review journal editor tracey mcdonald warned in a 2023 paper on achieving an endemic status for covid-19 how, "traps for unwary politicians and commentators include statements on scientific matters that fall well outside their knowledge and experience, and the danger of adopting and misusing esoteric terminology that has nuanced meanings within professional circles." during the course of the covid-19 pandemic, it became apparent that the sars-cov-2 virus was unlikely to die out, but was more likely to become endemic. endemicity is characterized by the continued existence of the virus, but with lower levels of infection than in the preceding epidemic. people continue to become infected because of changes and movement within populations, and endemic disease may have seasonal infection patterns, but the largest determinant of how endemicity manifests itself is the levels of immunity people have, both as a result of vaccination and infection. in the absence of a vaccine that provides long-lasting immunity against infection from covid-19, it will be impossible to eradicate the disease. the severity of a disease in an endemic phase depends on how long-lasting immunity against severe outcomes is. if such immunity is lifelong, or lasts longer than immunity against infection, then reinfections will be mild, resulting in a mild endemic phase. in other existing human coronaviruses, protection against infection is transient, but observed reinfections are mild. global status on 14 april 2022, the world health organization (who) said that covid-19 is far from becoming an endemic disease and could still trigger large outbreaks around the globe. the who declared that covid-19 no longer represents a public health emergency of international concern on 5 may 2023, but stated that it remains a pandemic. (the who does not declare the beginning or end of pandemics.) an article in human genomics said that the endemic phase of covid-19 would require worldwide vigilance and cooperation, especially in emerging countries", and suggested that developed countries should assist in boosting covid-19 vaccination rates worldwide. in october 2022, a report on covid-19 commissioned by the lancet assessed that covid-19 endemicity was likely but that the course of the pandemic was still not predictable. the report said endemicity could give rise to a new pandemic of long covid that would cause significant strain on nations' economies and healthcare systems because of the health and social care required to treat people. as of march 2023, it was not possible to predict the infection patterns covid-19 would settle on, though as with other coronaviruses it seemed possible the pattern would not be a seasonal one of the kind seen with influenza. countries indonesia main article: covid-19 pandemic in indonesia during a press conference on 3 march 2023, indonesian health minister budi gunadi sadikin announced the government has lessened its role in intervening in health programs as the covid-19 pandemic has turned endemic. he stated that " the same as the flu. we don't rule it. it’s on the community " and continued that "people have a bigger role to protect themselves. the responsibility of maintaining health lies on each of them". macau main article: covid-19 pandemic in macau at a press conference on 5 january 2023, the macau health bureau director alvis lo iek long stated that covid-19 has become an endemic disease in macau, and announced the cancellation of almost all entry curbs and measures. the statement follows a transition period that began on 8 december with the gradual easing of transmission curbs. malaysia main article: covid-19 pandemic in malaysia in september 2021, malaysian minister of health khairy jamaluddin announced that the government would transition to treating covid-19 as if it was in an "endemic phase" by the end of october 2021, after vaccinating 80% of the population. in march 2022, khairy said that malaysians could start "to live with covid-19" while maintaining some public health measures. netherlands main article: covid-19 pandemic in the netherlands on 24 february 2023, the outbreak management team in the netherlands observed the omicron variant and its subvariants to be endemic in their 146th set of recommendations since the pandemic began. the advisory team stated that "measures against covid-19 should be...in line with the generic measures for the prevention of other infections of the airways". they dropped recommendations for quarantine, self tests, and mask requirements for healthcare workers. philippines main article: covid-19 pandemic in the philippines in february 2022, the philippines department of health began shifting toward the endemic phase of covid-19, despite caution from the who that it may be too early to declare. during a media briefing, health undersecretary maria rosario vergeire said that the "transition to an endemic state for covid-19 does not mean that the government would stop its interventions or even remove minimum health protocols such as masking, physical distancing, and hand sanitation." who acting philippine representative rajendra yadav said that while the continued drop in the number of new cases is "encouraging," but the country should be careful in moving from the "acute phase" of the pandemic.