COVID-19 2022 update: transition of the pandemic to the endemic phase

Abstract

COVID-19, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2, has ravaged the world for the past 2 years. Here, we review the current state of research into the disease with focus on its history, human genetics and genomics and the transition from the pandemic to the endemic phase. We are particularly concerned by the lack of solid information from the initial phases of the pandemic that highlighted the necessity for better preparation to face similar future threats. On the other hand, we are gratified by the progress into human genetic susceptibility investigations and we believe now is the time to explore the transition from the pandemic to the endemic phase. The latter will require worldwide vigilance and cooperation, especially in emerging countries. In the transition to the endemic phase, vaccination rates have lagged and developed countries should assist, as warranted, in bolstering vaccination rates worldwide. We also discuss the current status of vaccines and the outlook for COVID-19.

Fig. 1

A comical view of the history of COVID-19. A few translations: “vorhersehbar” = predictable and “war ja klar” = obviously or sure or of course. Reproduced with permission (Mira Nagel)

Fig. 2

Chromosome ideogram representing the location of genes of interest investigated for a role in defining susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection (generated by ensembl.org [116])