There may be no herd immunity for COVID-19, says Dr. Scott Stienecker, infectious disease specialist in Ft. Wayne. He says even if almost everyone is vaccinated, coronavirus will still be around in some form.

“There’s not herd immunity, meaning that we’re gonna stop the disease like measles or mumps, you get vaccinated, you don’t get the disease,” he said. “We’ll continue to get the disease. It’s just a cold. But, that’s a whole lot easier to manage than COVID.”

Stienecker, who is also an epidemiologist, said he’s for vaccine mandates for everyone. Realizing that’s not legal or realistic, he said people should get vaccinated because the alternative, a full-strength version or coronavirus burning through the population, would be economically devastating.

“Right now we’re in the middle of what the alternative looks like if we don’t see a marked improvement in the vaccination rate,” he said. “Not only is it going to devastate those who are actively infected. But, remember 10 to 15 percent of people come down with long COVID.”

Stienecker said that could mean that many people could be out of the workforce next year because of the long-term effects of COVID.

He said that the hospitals are not getting full because of omicron, which has not proven to be any more dangerous than the Delta variant or normal coronavirus, but because not enough people are getting vaccinated to avoid needing to go to the hospital.

He said the disease will finally wane and weaken “when the number of unvaccinated, uninfected people, that we burn through that group”.

His speculation is two to three years. Until then, he strongly suggests vaccinations and boosters, and also that you do your best to avoid getting the virus or spreading it by avoiding large holiday gatherings.