COVID-19 'is going to be with us forever,' White House says

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 140 million Americans have been affected by the coronaviruses.

There is an update on the president's health, but the president's virus is going to be with us forever. Emphasizing that vaccination is the best way to build up immunity, he said it was important that people build up their immunity.

It was a sobering reminder that there are no plans to completely eradicate the coronaviruses. Many Americans want to return to normal life, but the coronaviruses cause economic and social disruption.

The consensus among medical and public health experts is that COVID-19 is with us for our lifetimes and beyond.

This is not the COVID-19 of 2020 because there are so many vaccines and treatments available. There are a lot of tools that allow us to live with this coronaviruses.

Biden has gotten two booster shots. He and the White House press secretary both said that his symptoms were not as bad as first thought. After several months during which the war in Ukraine, inflation and gun control dominated news coverage, the president's infectious disease returned to the forefront.

Biden's infection was seen by some public health experts as a sign that citizens are becoming more comfortable. Biden had stopped wearing a mask and had resumed travel.

Jean-Pierre told the reporter that the president likes to interact with the American public.

The several waves of the Omicron variant that have washed over the United States suggest that the virus is becoming more transmissible. It's good news for people who are protected by an immune system, but it also means that the virus will find new ways to cause mild illnesses, if only for a short time.

Even as the BA.5 variant continues to drive new infections, a new, even more transmissible strain has been found in the US.

It's difficult to avoid infections because the dominant strains are so infectious.

The unvaccinated and the unboosted are at risk of serious illness or death if the coronaviruses persist. More than one million Americans have died from the flu.

There is a point where we can prevent nearly every carbon dioxide death in America. The week ended with about 400 people dying each day from the disease.