A team of scientists has developed an epidemiological model that encompasses the randomness and dynamic variability of individual social interactions, as well as individual differences in the size of social networks. The team reports that this newly accounted-for random dynamic factor will always produce waves or plateaus of infections—like those seen throughout the pandemic—whether or not the model also accounts for individuals’ changing their social behavior based on knowledge of current infection rates. The new model, which builds on the team’s earlier findings published in April of this year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is validated against empirical data taken from four U.S. regions prior to the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines. The model further tells us that COVID-19 may be here to stay—it shows a clear path for it to become endemic in the global population, much like the common cold or the flu.