COVID-19 vaccine will normalize the world again post-pandemic, doctor says
Mar 4, 2021, 5:47 PM | Updated: 9:26 pm
A nurse holds a phial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Guy's Hospital in London, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, as the U.K. health authorities rolled out a national mass vaccination program. U.K. regulators said Wednesday Dec. 9, 2020, that people who have a “significant history’’ of allergic reactions shouldn’t receive the new Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine while they investigate two adverse reactions that occurred on the first day of the country’s mass vaccination program. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)
(AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)
SALT LAKE CITY — An infectious disease specialist predicts the new COVID-19 vaccine rollouts will normalize the world once again post-pandemic. Terms like “social distancing”, “shelter in place”, and “new normal” will cease to exist in the post-pandemic era, Dr. Todd Vento of Intermountain Healthcare said.
He and other healthcare officials express cautious optimism about multiple COVID-19 vaccines but also stress that their rollout depends on a multitiered approach.
The feat is more remarkable, Vento said, because of its timeline. Historically, vaccines took decades and often never appeared at all. There is still no vaccine for AIDS, for example.
People looking for a COVID-19 vaccine now have more options. Three different versions of the COVID-19 vaccine are available, meaning “normal” is closer than ever.
Vento expects most restrictions to stay in place through spring in Utah, but predicts by summer, travel and get-togethers will make a comeback.
“This summer we should have over 300 million doses,” Vento said.
However, Vento relayed that some things may never get back to normal. Just as new technology has changed the way we do medicine, the pandemic has also changed the way we work. Decades ago, the internet was going to make distance irrelevant and break the tie between where we live and where we work. Now, many businesses have shifted to remote or hybrid office models.
