Covid will 'probably' be a seasonal virus, like the flu, CDC director says

Covid will 'probably' be a seasonal virus, like the flu, CDC director says CDC Director Walensky says that Covid could act the flu, with cases increasing seasonally, as a part of the new normal. YahooNews

Even as cases of Covid-19 continue to fall nationwide, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the coronavirus is most likely here to stay — and that it could behave similarly to influenza.

"I do anticipate that this is probably going to be a seasonal virus," said the CDC's director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky. That means it could join the flu and other respiratory viruses that tend to spread during the cold winter months.

The U.S. is averaging 49,569 new Covid cases a day, according to an NBC News tally, a decrease of more than 54 percent over the past two weeks. Covid-related death numbers are also falling, now averaging 1,533 per day, a reduction of about a third over the past two weeks.

Despite the positive Covid trends, CDC officials say it is increasingly likely that the coronavirus will never truly go away, instead simmering at low levels and rising in the winter.

"This virus will probably continue to circulate in our society, in our country, around the world for years to come," said Dr. Henry Walke, the director of the CDC's Center for Preparedness and Response. "This next six months, the next year, will really inform us in terms of what living with this virus is going to look like." ...

While the CDC says 90 percent of people in the U.S. can take off their masks now, Walensky said she can't guarantee that masks will be gone forever. That means they could one day make a comeback.

"I would say put your masks in a drawer, anticipate you may need them again and hope that we don't," she said. ...