Abstract

There is still debate in the virological community about whether the Omicron variant of the Sars-CoV-2 virus means its end as a pandemic virus and whether the endemic phase is already beginning-or not. We venture the hypothesis that Covid-19 is already a virus which is very similar to the four endemic seasonal coronaviruses and poses a relatively low risk to fully (3x) vaccinated individuals and to individuals who have recovered from infections with other Sars-CoV-2 variants in 2019 to 2022. For this reason, it would now make sense to develop vaccines and drugs that are effective against all known endemic human coronaviruses (hCoV), which are often lamentably misleadingly referred to as "cold viruses," rather than limiting new vaccines to the Omicron variant or to any other variant. Such a bold step would be a milestone in protecting the vulnerable population that has been at the mercy of classic hCoV viruses for centuries without effective protection.