There are a few theories (scientific not social media) that this virus is now in the eco-system and is here to stay, much like the flu. I've also been surprised (and shocked) to learn how many people die from flu every year, stats that I've only seen since this virus hit the world.
Seasonal flu (not at all the same as a cold) can be very serious, and can lead to pneumonia which is usually the killer. Flu kills thousands of people every year.
Like COVID-19, the elderly and people with respiratory illnesses are most likely to suffer serious consequences from flu infections if they catch it. However, the different is that the vaccine process is understood, and as the flu virus mutates, new vaccine variants are released annually to counter the most widespread strain. Seasonal flu is typically present during the winter months, and fades away during the summer months. It moves across the world affecting the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere as the seasons change.
Some years, the Seasonal flu vaccines are more successful than others. But, the biggest different to COVID-19 is that flu is far more difficult to catch (I don't know the science as to why this is the case). Every now and then, new and unpredicted stains immerge (sometimes they jump from other animal species) for which there is no vaccine (Bird flu, Swine Flu for example).
I got Swine flu back in 2009 and developed pneumonia (I was a fit and healthy and in my 30s at the time). The pneumonia flawed me for a couple of week, and it took me a year to fully recover.
Incidentally, pneumonia is a bit of a catch-all word for any condition when the lungs are infected and its difficult to get oxygen into the blood - there are various different causes and types, and reasons for developing pneumonia - it can be bacterial or virus based. Often after flu, when the body is week, you develop a secondary (bacterial) infection. I had bacterial pneumonia, which fortunately responded to antibiotics.
Other than vaccines, even now, there's not much that can be done medically to fight a virus once a person is infected. Hospital treatment can provide breathing assistance & can support other organs that are infected to give the patient the best chance of recovery, but hospitals can't 'cure' virus infections. It's the body's own immune response that (hopefully) kills the virus, and allows the person to recover.
Research suggests that COVID-19 may well have an active and less-active phase, just like Season flu does, which is why there is so much concern about the second-wave.
I don't know how I feel about going back to the cinema. I really want to see Top Gun Maverick and Tenet on the biggest screens possible...
Regards,
James.