[Bellyache5]

I have heard similarly from various outlets that "we'll just have to learn to live with Covid-19, like we do with the flu and other viruses that we're unable to eradicate".

What I find curious is that SARS-CoV-1 (e.g. the original SARS circa 2003) seemed to eventually disappear overnight. It leaves me pondering two questions:

1. Did SARS-CoV-1 actually disappear or do we just not hear about it anymore?

2. What is different between SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 that makes us think the latter will persist indefinitely when the former seemed to disappear?

[nradov]

SARS-CoV was less contagious and had a higher fatality rate, so it burned out quickly. There's no reliable evidence that it's still circulating in humans.

SARS-CoV-2 is more contagious and less fatal so it has already spread worldwide. It also has multiple animal reservoirs so even if there was some way to simultaneously eliminate the virus from every human (there isn't), we would just catch it again from dogs or deer or something and the pandemic would restart.

[pricecomstock]

There were only ever 8000 confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-1. It was able to be contained. Wikipedia mentions that quarantines were very effective because it wasn't often asymptomatically contagious.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndr...