Our hospitalizations are going up.

Individuals in the ICUs are going up and sadly, we are losing more people.

This month, more than half of states have reported record daily casecams.

It's now November.

There is a chill in the air and winter is right around the corner.

We know this virus isn't going away anytime soon.

Here's where the country stood as of last week.

The US is now averaging over 70,000 new cases per day, even worse than the surges in the spring and summer.

40 states are trending worse in the reporting of new cases.

Only one is trending better.

So you're probably asking the question, everyone is.

How long should we realistically expect the virus to be a part of our everyday lives?

I'm asking the question as well.

So today, I'm going to try and help clear the air on some misconceptions about that timeline.

I'm also going to look at some strategies that we can all employ in the meantime to stay safe and healthy,

especially as the weather gets colder.

I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent.

And this is coronavirus, fact versus fiction.

First up, let's talk about the vaccine.

It's tempting to think of the vaccine as some sort of silver bullet that's going to make everything go back to normal right away.

But look, the reality is that a vaccine is going to be a huge development,

but it's not immediately going to allow life to return to the way that it was before the pandemic.

...