Tetra Images/Getty Images(NEW YORK) The United States marked a new stage in the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic when President Joe Biden announced in his State of the Union address Tuesday that "COVID-19 no longer need control our lives." The World Health Organization declared a global pandemic in March 2020 due to rapid spread of COVID-19 all across the globe. However, as many experts believe the virus that causes COVID-19 will never be eradicated, the world must at some point transition away from "pandemic" and toward an "endemic" phase. Pandemics are a widespread, rapid spread of disease, with exponentially rising cases over a large area. Endemic viruses, meanwhile, are constantly present and have a fairly predictable spread. That predictability allows health care systems and doctors to prepare and adapt, reducing loss of life. For a pandemic to reach an endemic phase, it would need to be "a situation where you have a backgrou
. (Tribune News Service) A quarter of eligible South Carolinians have now been completely vaccinated against COVID-19, yet state health officials have recently discovered a small number of coronavirus infections among fully inoculated people. These cases, which are called breakthrough infections, are extremely rare and typically mild, according to public health experts. It s important to track the breakthrough cases, researchers say, to possibly identify new and troubling coronavirus mutations, if they emerge. The cases may also provide insight into how effective the vaccines are in immunocompromised patients who have weakened immune systems and struggle to fight off infections. The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control as of April 8 had identified 155 breakthrough cases in the state, according to spokeswoman Cristi Moore. Seventeen of those patients were hospitalized and at least one person had died.