How the pandemic might play out in 2021 and beyond
How the pandemic might play out in 2021 and beyond

        

        
            
        
        
            
                
                    

    
        
            
                NEWS FEATURE
                05 August 2020
                
            

            

            
                
                
                    This coronavirus is here for the long haul — here’s what scientists predict for the next months and years.
                
            
        
        
            
    
        
            
                
                    Megan Scudellari
                
                
                    
                        
                            Megan Scudellari is a science journalist in Boston, Massachusetts.
                        
                    
                
                
                    
                
            
        
    

        
    
    


                    
                        
    
            
            
    
    
        
             Illustration by Ana Kova
        
    

                    
                    
            
            


        
            
                
                    
                        

                        
                    
                
            

            
                

                

                
                    June 2021. The world has been in pandemic mode for a year and a half. The virus continues to spread at a slow burn; intermittent lockdowns are the new normal. An approved vaccine offers six months of protection, but international deal-making has slowed its distribution. An estimated 250 million people have been infected worldwide, and 1.75 million are dead.
                    
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                Nature 584, 22-25 (2020)
                doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02278-5

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