HuffPost It s Not Just Vaccines We Need These 5 Other Things to End the Pandemic Skip to main content Close Select your preferred language English عربى 简体中文 繁體中文 فارسي עִברִית 日本語 한국어 Русский Español Tagalog Menu Close Call 1-800-CEDARS-1 toggle search form Close Los Angeles, 02 June 2021 09:00 AM America/Los_Angeles HuffPost It s Not Just Vaccines We Need These 5 Other Things to End the Pandemic Among the things we need to end the COVID-19 pandemic are masking and social distancing in some situations, says Jonathan Grein, MD, director of Hospital Epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai. Photo by Cedars-Sinai. Staff wearing a mask Hospital staff wearing a mask at the Pavilion employee temperature testing location at an employee temperature testing site As COVID-19 cases continue to drop in the U.S., HuffPost spoke with Jonathan Grein, MD, director of Hospital Epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai, about five things that will help Americans return to some form of normal daily life given that COVID-19 may be with us forever. "We may not be able to completely eliminate this virus, just given how many millions and millions of people around the globe are infected," Grein told HuffPost. But while many health experts believe it won't be possible to achieve herd immunity, widespread vaccination and other public health measures could limit the severity of the disease so that it poses minimal risk. Grein said we need to determine how long immunity lasts, which will determine whether vaccine booster shots are needed and how frequently. Monitoring emerging variants that could make vaccines less effective also is essential, along with "targeted surveillance and identifying people that may have a 'breakthrough' infection who've been vaccinated," Grein told HuffPost. Rapid COVID-19 testing, including improved at-home testing, could help limit further spread of the disease. With only one drug (remdesivir) approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat COVID-19, further treatments must be developed. "We have more therapeutic options available to us now than we did at the beginning of the pandemic," Grein told HuffPost. "But we're still pretty limited." Finally, Americans will need to stick with masking and social distancing, in at least some situations, for the foreseeable future. "One of the key strategies to controlling this pandemic is maintaining those infection prevention measures," Grein told HuffPost, "particularly in high-risk settings." Click here to read the complete article on HuffPost.com. Related Stories RSS feed - Related Stories (opens in new window) View all headlines - Related Stories HealthDay Black Women Less Likely to Get Laparoscopic Fibroid Surgeries October 07, 2022 09:00 AM America/Los_Angeles HealthDay recently interviewed Rebecca J. Schneyer, MD, a resident in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program at Cedars-Sinai, about a study she led that found Black and Hispanic women were less likely than white women to receive minimally … Read more KCRW Want New Omicron Booster Wait at Least 2 Months After Last Shot October 06, 2022 09:00 AM America/Los_Angeles KCRW program Press Play recently featured Rita Shane, PharmD, vice president and chief pharmacy officer at Cedars-Sinai, discussing who qualifies for the updated COVID-19 booster and how long patients must wait before getting the shot.The Centers … Read more ABC 7 Spider-Man Swings by 4-Year-Old Leukemia Patient s Birthday Party at Cedars-Sinai September 30, 2022 09:00 AM America/Los_Angeles ABC 7 recently profiled Cedars-Sinai patient Jabari Henley, who celebrated his fourth birthday with a special superhero at Guerin Children's newly opened inpatient facility.The Lifedriven Foundation helped throw Henley a surprise party in the Guerin … Read more Show previous items Show next items Contact the Media Team Email: [email protected] Share this release HuffPost It s Not Just Vaccines We Need These 5 Other Things to End the Pandemic Share on: Twitter Share on: Facebook Share on: LinkedIn Search Our Newsroom Social media Visit our Facebook page (opens in new window) Follow us on Twitter (opens in new window) Visit our Youtube profile (opens in new window) (opens in new window) Latest news 07 Oct 2022 - HealthDay Black Women Less Likely to Get Laparoscopic Fibroid Surgeries 07 Oct 2022 - Faculty Publications: Sept. 29-Oct. 6 07 Oct 2022 - Fine-Tuning Organ-Chip Technology 06 Oct 2022 - KCRW Want New Omicron Booster Wait at Least 2 Months After Last Shot 05 Oct 2022 - Cedars-Sinai Schedules Free Flu Vaccine Clinics 04 Oct 2022 - Cedars-Sinai Showcases Hispanic and Latinx Art Newsroom Home