Probably I should have said that I'm not sure what "burning out fast" means in relation to this particular virus.

Two years into the pandemic, it's clearly not burned through even the unvaccinated minority in countries with high vaccination rates, and it's re-infecting a fair number. Meanwhile, in my country alone three quarters of a million people have died from the infection--and more this year than last. I'm ignoring the presence of the new variant, which *may* not respond to existing vaccines, meaning it *may* not respond to natural immunity from past infections....although no one really knows.

I'm grateful that a wide variety of infectious diseases have not been left to "burn out fast" in the general population. As an official Old Person (tm), I had mumps, measles, chicken pox--all now preventable via vaccination--but not polio, anthrax, pertussis, shingles, hepatitis, meningitis, tetanus, diphtheria, or yellow fever, despite sometimes tempting fate. I'd love to see vaccines against malaria, giardiasis, dysentery, and various forms of food poisoning and bacterial infection. The hell with letting them "burn out fast."

I do hope you're right about three months to a fresh, targeted vaccine, but that doesn't mean I'll have it in my arm before the middle of next year, and I'm one of the privileged, early-eligibility ones.

The above should not be construed as implying anything in particular about masks, distancing, pub closures, professional sports, the Olympics, or almost anything else you can think of.