though surges are annoying and for some they will likely be tragic but they are not to the tune of 2,000 to 3,000 deaths a day. we live that way with influenza. >> how close do you think we are that we live with covid the way we do with influenza, or the flu? >> there is no magic time line. and i want the public to understand that. what we need to be doing is tracking multiple met rics simultaneously. we need to make sure vaccination and boosting is happening, especially in those groups that i described. because if a variant of concern would emerge like omicron was, where being boosted is fundamental to your protection and your safety, we're going to see that disproportionate impact in those groups. so i would caution people. yes. we would get to the point where there is predictability.