Outbreak carries the same definition but is used for a more limited geographic area.
COVID-19 became pandemic when it affected people from all over the world, continuously mutating and spreading rapidly.
Endemic means the virus is out there in the world, and that we will have to learn to live with it in certain regions.
A few other sporadic diseases include , , and plague.
Foodborne pathogens, such as or , can often cause sporadic disease outbreaks.
Herd immunity from vaccination or infection will play a key role in ensuring we move towards an endemic COVID.