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CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chris Murray, a University of Washington disease expert whose projections on COVID-19 infections and deaths are closely followed worldwide, is changing his assumptions about the course of the pandemic.

Murray had until recently been hopeful that the discovery of several effective vaccines could help countries achieve herd immunity, or nearly eliminate transmission through a combination of inoculation and previous infection. But in the last month, data from a vaccine trial in South Africa showed not only that a rapidly-spreading coronavirus variant could dampen the effect of the vaccine, it could also evade natural immunity in people who had been previously infected.

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Facing a second spring without the promise of a break, frustrated would-be travelers can be forgiven for feeling weary. But, infectious-disease experts say, there are better days for travel ahead as the number of vaccinations increases and new coronavirus cases drop.

Exactly when that will happen — and what those days will look like — is unclear. And unknowns still loom: How long will immunity last after people are vaccinated or infected? Can they still transmit the virus? Will vaccines work as well as new variants emerge?

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A new variant of the coronavirus is quickly becoming the dominant strain in California, the Los Angeles Times reports, and that’s worrying experts.

According to new research by scientists at UC San Francisco, the variant dubbed B1427/B1429 can not only spread more easily from human to human, but it could also evade antibodies generated by the COVID-19 vaccines currently being administered.

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While the strong decline in new coronavirus infections across the country this month is an optimistic sign he expects to continue, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said the U.S. may never reach herd immunity against the virus.

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A Nature survey shows many scientists expect the virus that causes COVID-19 to become endemic, but it could pose less danger over time.

For much of the past year, life in Western Australia has been coronavirus-free. Friends gathered in pubs; people kissed and hugged their relatives; children went to school without temperature checks or wearing masks. The state maintained this enviable position only by placing heavy restrictions on travel and imposing lockdowns—some regions entered a snap lockdown at the beginning of the year after a security guard at a hotel where visitors were quarantined tested positive for the virus. But the experience in Western Australia has provided a glimpse into a life free from the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. If other regions, aided by vaccines, aimed for a similar zero-COVID strategy, then could the world hope to rid itself of the virus?

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Despite being indoors (a red flag), the sort of behavior engaged in at the movies is, relatively speaking, benign.

As COVID-19 case numbers drop, hospitalizations decrease, vaccine administrations increase, and blockbuster season approaches, Americans who think big movies deserve a big screen are wondering when they can dare return to theaters. The closest deadline for many is the March 31 release date of Godzilla vs. Kong: If you’re going to watch a skyscraper-sized monkey punch a battleship-length lizard, you probably want to do so on a screen the height of a McMansion.

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Scientists have found seven separate but similar variants of the coronavirus that have emerged within the United States and appear share a similar genetic mutation to more contagious U.K. and South African types, raising concerns that the U.S. may have to deal with multiple variants of the virus that likely spread more easily.

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What if COVID-19 never goes away?

Experts say it's likely that some version of the disease will linger for years. But what it will look like in the future is less clear.

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COVID-19 cases are falling. More people are getting vaccinated. So how risky is travel now?

Experts say that it's generally still too dangerous. And the government agrees. Noting that the number of COVID-19 cases is still "extremely" high, the Centers for Disease Control has maintained its current travel warning.

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It’s never smart to make sweeping generalizations (and never smart to say never), but it’s safe to say (nearly) everyone will be glad when the pandemic abates. Who knew this would last as long as it has. “If we had known then what we know now,” we can say to ourselves.

But if you listen closely, there are also people saying they don’t want to go back to the way things were—at least not entirely. It’s been great for many to have additional time with family and to work from home in fuzzy slippers, avoiding the commute. For some, their employers’ offices weren’t wonderlands of wonderful-ness and they would be happy not to return to things exactly as they were. They’d rather go back to something better than what they left.

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