Even in this dark moment, as coronavirus cases surge to even more alarming levels and new lockdowns are imposed, there is a path forward to guide us out of this pandemic, experts say. What will life look like over the next year? UC Berkeley demographers Ronald Lee and Joshua Goldstein say the virus will shorten this country's average lifespan in 2020 by about a year. That's because older people, with fewer remaining years of life, represent the most fatalities, according to their research. But without interventions, they say, we could have lost five years. At universities, it's a mixed picture. Some campuses will try to bring students on campus. At UC Berkeley, the first two weeks will be fully remote but limited in-person instruction will start in February. Perhaps by next autumn, if our vaccine rollout is a success, life will feel safe enough to ease anxieties, rebuild relationships and start an unfettered restoration of the economy. "As we work to contain this epidemic," said UC Berkeley demographer Lee, "it is important to know that we have been through such mortality crises before." For more on this, see our press release at Berkeley News.