COVID-19 | Why vaccines alone will not end the pandemic There is no doubt that getting vaccinated protects the recipient. Still, several infectious-disease researchers cautioned that it would be months before enough people will have gotten the shots to allow for normal life to begin again New York Times January 26, 2021 / 01:19 PM IST People wearing protective face masks wait for passengers to arrive at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport after India cancelled all flights from the UK over fears of a new strain of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Mumbai. (Image: Reuters) Matthew Conlen, Denise Lu and James Glanz The coronavirus pandemic in the United States has raged almost uncontrollably for so long that even if millions of people are vaccinated, millions more will still be infected and become ill unless people continue to wear masks and maintain social distancing measures until midsummer or later, according to a new model by scientists at Columbia University.