I keep hearing phrases like “in the middle of a pandemic” or “during a pandemic” from various sources, clearly trying to convey a message that we are actively dealing with an ongoing situation. My question is, when is the pandemic over? I haven’t heard anyone talk about what stats would be used to measure an end to the pandemic or when the correlating precautions like masks or mandatory vaccines will end. One of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is to “Begin with the end in mind”. So I’d like to start a discussion thread about when this will be over and what metrics are going to used to distinguish that. One of the big themes of the 2020 response was “flatten the curve”. From the data shown earlier in this sub it appears that the curve has flattened. Now what are we using to measure our progress towards an end of the Covid Era and a full return to the old normal?