While a lot of people are working hard on finding a vaccine for this virus, even with a vaccine that does not mean we will see the end of this virus completely. Even with the flu vaccine, we still see cases of the flu.
In recent times WHO’s emergencies director, Dr. Mike Ryan spoke about this topic according to BBC, and he said that we should not be predicting when this virus would go away and that we should consider the possibility that it may never go away completely. Dr. Ryan said that we should consider that it could become ‘just another epidemic virus in our communities.’ He says that no one can truly predict the end of this virus and well that in itself is quite clear.
While there are tons of different kinds of vaccines in the works and surely some of them will prove effective, that does not mean the virus will be eliminated completely. We have vaccines present for tons of things that people still deal with/end up sick by in this world. That having been said, getting the virus under control is possible and is an effort that should be worked towards no matter what.
CBS reported as follows on this topic:
According to John Hopkins University’s latest data, more than 4.4 million people worldwide have been infected and nearly 300,000 have died from COVID-19. And the end of the virus may not be in sight anytime soon, Ryan said.
“I think it’s important to put this on the table: this virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities, and this virus may never go away,” Ryan said.
He brought up the fact that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is still around decades later, but therapies have allowed people with the virus to live “long, healthy lives.”
“HIV has not gone away, but we have come to terms with the virus and we have found the therapies and we found the prevention methods and people don’t feel as scared as they did before,” he said. “And we’re offering life to people with HIV. Long, healthy lives to people with HIV. And I’m not comparing the two diseases, but I think it is important that we should be realistic. And I don’t think anyone can predict when or if this disease will disappear.”
More than 100 potential coronavirus vaccines are in development, according to WHO. Ryan expressed optimism on “eliminating this virus” if a vaccine is developed and distributed throughout the world. “That vaccine will have to be available, it’ll have to be highly effective, it will have to be made available to everyone and we will have to use it,” he said.
But Ryan pointed out that the existence of a vaccine does not guarantee global protection. He mentioned that before the pandemic struck, medical teams were working with young children in Samoa who were on ventilators: The children gotten sick with measles and were not vaccinated against it, even though a safe and effective vaccine has existed for decades.
Media briefing on #COVID19 with @DrTedros https://t.co/euggX435FQ
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 13, 2020
There are lots of challenges to face with this virus and even with a vaccine, those challenges are going to be hard to overcome. This virus has spread quite far and is seemingly everywhere. With more and more coming out each day in regard, we are learning a lot which is in many ways a step in the right direction. The more we learn from this pandemic and how we control it the better prepared we will be for whatever comes next.