Smallpox was eradicated with a sterilizing vaccine. We don't have one of those for SARS-CoV-2, and there's no prospect of one any time soon. We also know that other mammals can get infected and pass the virus to humans. The bats or pangolins or whatever originally transmitted the virus to humans are still out there somewhere. It is impossible to vaccinate or cull all those animals. Thus it is impossible to eradicate the virus. We need to be realistic and accept that it's here to stay.
