Dr. Michael Osterholm, the director at Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, had some bleak news about the future of the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday.
During an interview on CNN, Osterholm explained a report he and his colleagues at the university had released early in the day, which found that the virus will likely keep spreading for 18 to 24 months until it reaches the high threshold of COVID-19 cases needed to create a herd immunity.
“This is going to continue to do that until 60% or 70% of the population has been infected,” the doctor told CNN anchor Jim Sciutto.
Osterholm warned that the pandemic is a “rolling situation” throughout the world and that New York, which currently has the highest number of cases in the U.S. by far, won’t be the only area to suffer an explosion of infections.
“Expect many more New Yorks to occur,” he said. “It’s very likely they will.”
Watch Osterholm below:
Infectious diseases expert says COVID-19 will keep spreading for the next two years "until 60% or 70% of the population has been infected." pic.twitter.com/1f7QODY3bN
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) May 1, 2020
