There was a time when the term endemic stood like no other for people's hope that the corona pandemic would one day end.
That everything is back to how it was before the virus because people have learned to live with the pathogen.
Thomas Mertens, Chairman of the Standing Vaccination Committee, has not forgotten that.
Because so many people have now been vaccinated against Corona or have suffered an infection, it is now an endemic virus infection, says Mertens.
And he adds that the question may be "more of psychological than scientific" importance.
New virus variants will come
In fact, for most people, it no longer makes any difference what label you give the disease.
Corona remains a problem for those who are unvaccinated, previously ill or, in the worst case, both at the same time.
For most others, the pathogen has at best become a nuisance.
The endemic awaited a year ago has come without it making any difference to most people.
But the challenges for the community have not gone away.
New virus variants are just around the corner, which will cause more infections again.
Many hospitals are under so much pressure due to staff shortages that they have to postpone operations that can be planned again.
The endemic may be there, but it is far from the end.