How long will COVID-19 be around?

Forever        

Although masks are common in some Asian countries, what we are waiting for is a vaccine that is effective and backed by non-partisan doctors.
The 8 million number is the confirmed tested positive.
The actual number is much higher. We don't know how much, but could be up to 5 times that.
The issue is also public gatherings of large crowds. (BLM, Trump Rallies, etc)
One study showed that wearing a mask reduced the severity of infection.
That would be a good thing.
Viruses are always around. It's nasty ones like Covid-19 that are rough.
Be inconvenienced for a while. Wear the mask, wait for a vaccine.
Be advised, people with preexisting conditions and elderly people get the sickest and die most often. Younger people handle it well, but seem to be getting infected much more often as a group. I do not know your age. Please be careful trying not to infect the most vulnerable. That is mostly who you are protecting. Think of anyone you love over 60 years old. 

From what I've read it is here to stay, even with a vaccine. It's too widespread, too transmissible, and immunity to it might be temporary. 
The prediction is that when enough people get it the pandemic will end, but there will continue to be outbreaks. There will be vaccines for it soon, but since immunities to the virus might not last, people might need to get booster shots on a regular basis. 

But I think we will eventually learn how to live with it. I don't think we'll be needing to wear masks for the rest of our lives.

I really don't think the outlook is as bleak as some make it out to be.

It might be over next month, or it might stick around forever.  Nobody knows.

You're right, over 8 million Americans have caught the virus at least once in the USA, and it is just over 2% of the population.  But you're wrong about the status quo and the projected figures.

If the US keeps with its current status quo, the percent of infected population will increase exponentially over the next 9 months.  This virus is aggressive and incredibly persistent, and Americans are not.  Currently, the USA (one of the most advanced and educated nations in the world) is doing a downright pathetic job of fighting this virus.  Take a look at any list of the Top Ten virus hotspots around the globe, and notice how the USA is at the very top of all of them.  Also notice how the clear majority of countries in the Top Ten are third world sh*tholes... sorry, developing economies.  That's not good news, not good news at all.

Even India, with over 1.3 billion people and a health care / quality of life index that makes several former Soviet republics look positively idyllic, hasn't been able to defeat the USA as Covid Capital of the World.  I won't even get started on those toilets in South America.

Even up here in Canada, where we totally crushed the first wave, we're feeling the effects of the stronger and meaner second wave.  And we pretty much shut our whole damned country down for over two months, including near-total border closures.  In the US, people are still debating the use of masks and social distancing, and are too busy arguing (in large groups with no distancing or masks) over which politician is to blame for it.

It could be larger then that, not all cases get reported. 
14 days isolation is for if you contract the virus, or if you travelled to another country.
Covid 19 is a new virus, no one knows if there's immunity towards it or not. If people are contracting the virus more then once, then there may not be immunity towards it. 
Large public gatherings where not every one is wearing a mask, I'm not taking that chance. Not that I'm scared of it, I have a healthy respect for it. Also I don't want to spend 2 weeks at home because I may have been exposed to the virus. I have an auto immune disease, If I get covid 19, I could end up in the hospital. 
You should wear a mask in an indoor public area or if physical distancing could be a challenge. You don't have to wear them when you're on your own. So you have to wear a mask for a while when you go shopping, vs getting covid 19 or possibly passing it onto some one that could get really sick from it....I would rather put up with having to wear a mask for a while. 
Hopefully they will find a safe and affective vaccine that people would be willing to take, so covid 19 may eventually go away. For now, better to be safe then sorry. 

Just like the flu comes around yearly this probably will also. That's why we will need a vaccine just like the flu shots since both will mutate and be different each year. 

You can't catch it twice.  People who had SARS 17 years ago are probably immune.  Once you catch a virus you are immune.

a very long time by the look of it

Nobody knows. If it mutates fast enough, it could be with us as long as "the" flue is

it's an excuse for politicians to raise taxes so it will be around for a while

 It's difficult to develop antibodies to COVID-19, so it may be around a while in lesser forms even after a vaccine,

The way thing are going for another couple of years.

Well, first you cannot calculate an infectious disease like you would a mortgage. It's a natural phenomenon and is therefore mercurial, unpredictable, chaotic. The fact is, people in the USA are not diligently wearing masks or observing social distancing. Also, there's no large-scale testing, no monitoring of those in quarantine and no effective contact tracing. Plus too many people are openly defying the guidelines-- like president Trump. As long as stupidity runs rampant and there's no single voice compelling prevention from our own govt, the pandemic will only get worse. So the US is the world's worst example and definitely not the place to base any estimates on.

People need to stop wearing masks and stop social distancing,  stop listening to the govenors who are emplimenting these mandates