Infectious diseases expert says COVID is on its way to becoming like the common cold

Taiwan recorded 31,078 local COVID infections on Thursday, surpassing 30,000 infections for the first time this year. Infectious disease expert Lee Ping-ing says the main factors for the rise are the colder winter weather as well as the rise of new subvariants. Lee says the severity of COVID is only set to weaken in the future, and could end up becoming like the common cold. He says if that’s the case, there won’t be a need to get vaccinated once a year.

A new COVID wave is swelling in Taiwan, with local cases surpassing 30,000 infections on Thursday. Infectious disease expert Lee Ping-ing, says one of the main reasons for the surge is low winter temperatures.

Lee Ping-ing
NTU Children’s Hospital
The infection tally’s rise is being fueled by two factors. One of them is the emergence of variants. The other is the cold weather. During cold weather, all viral respiratory diseases have higher incidence rates. These viruses have a higher transmissibility in cold weather.

Already, Taiwan has detected its first cases of the BQ.1 COVID subvariant, which had been on the rise in Europe and the U.S. A health expert says more variants may arrive after China removes quarantines for international arrivals starting Sunday.

Hung Tzu-jen
National Yang Ming Jiao Tung University
We need to be more vigilant, because over in Mainland China, there is going to be millions of infections in a very short period of time. That allows the virus to mutate rapidly. It could be the case that a new virulent strain could emerge. Of course, that’s something we should all keep an eye out for.

Many experts say that the mortality and virulence of COVID will become less severe as the virus mutates. Some say COVID is on its way to become like the seasonal flu. A local doctor says it’s more apt to say the disease is becoming more like a cold.

Lee Ping-ing
NTU Children’s Hospital
After the Omicron variant emerged, the disease’s severity did not worsen. It’s different from the flu in that its mortality and virulence have continued going down. So its characteristics make it more like the cold. If every year, most COVID infections result in mild symptoms mostly, then there won’t be a need to get vaccinated every year. If it becomes like the common cold, then annual vaccination won’t be necessary.

The doctor still advises older adults and people with weakened immunity to get vaccinated with a next-gen shot before the Lunar New Year break.