Missouri plotting official ‘end’ to COVID-19 pandemic, document says | News Tribune

CEID Faculty Dr. Ellie Murray weighs in on endemicity:

“…Despite the trend, some epidemiologists have criticized the political use of the term ‘endemic,’ saying a desire to return to a pre-COVID-19 normal doesn’t align with the actual science around how pandemics end.

Ellie Murray, an epidemiologist at Boston University’s School of Public Health who has been particularly vocal about this issue, has defined an endemic disease as ‘controlled at or below an acceptable level.’

This ‘acceptable’ level is typically determined by health experts based on how much of a risk a disease poses to humans. But an endemic status shouldn’t lead to less data collection, Murray wrote in a recent Medium post.

‘Endemic means someone is ALWAYS thinking about covid,’ she wrote…”

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