University of Michigan Doc Predicts Pandemic Will Come to an End in 2022

A leading doctor and professor at the University of Michigan is making a bold prediction, saying the Coronavirus pandemic will likely come to an end in 2022.

Dr. Jim Baker is an immunology professor at U of M. He tells WDIV in the video below that as more and more people develop an immunity to the virus and as vaccinations become more prevalent, fewer people will be prone to suffering serious effects.

“When we talk about the pandemic, this huge wave of infection that goes around the world, we usually see a lot of different phases,” Dr. Baker said. “The more people are immune to the virus, the more people have a vaccine, the less likely they’re going to have a serious effect from this.”

Baker explains that viruses typically start out as very deadly but as the next wave hits we see variants that are more contagious but less likely to cause a high number of deaths. He explains that the Omicron variant can be viewed as the "winding down" phase of the virus because it is very contagious but less likely to kill off its hosts.

Baker says that each wave of the virus brings more immunity noting that the Omicron variant may help prevent people from getting the Delta variant.

In his blog, Baker likens the current pandemic to the 1917 Spanish Flu that is estimated to have killed 50 million people worldwide saying that the most susceptible individuals died during the first wave while much of the remaining population gained immunity.

"In the 1917 flu pandemic, after the initial burst of infections and deaths, two waves of deaths followed, each one less impactful. This is how pandemics end; two “echo” waves each being less and less significant."