The coming months will be the pandemic's riskiest

Significance

It is now known which groups are more vulnerable and there is a good appreciation of case numbers in high-income countries. Knowledge about how the virus is transmitted is still in early stages, and although doctors are getting better at treating it, medical developments are still far from allowing a return to ‘normality’.

Impacts

• ‘Second spikes’ and local outbreaks will keep local rules and international ties in a state of upheaval.
• As certain areas of life try to return to normal it will provide an opportunity to study transmission more closely.
• A key area of research will be how long any protection lasts if someone has already had COVID-19.