A former chief scientific adviser of the UK government stated that the coronavirus is going to stay with human beings forever and people are going to require repeated vaccinations to fight against it. Professor Mark Walport mentioned that the disease is not going to be like smallpox, which could be eradicated by vaccination.
"This is a virus that is going to be with us forever in some form or another and almost certainly will require repeated vaccinations. So, a bit like flu, people will need revaccination at regular intervals," he said in the BBC Radio 4's Today program.
COVID-19 Can Again Get Out of Control
The scientist mentioned that there is a possibility that the virus can get out of control again. He also expressed his concerns about the spread of the virus in countries that previously got the outbreak under control. "You've only got to see what's happening in France, Spain, [and] in [South] Korea, which got it under control very quickly and is now seeing a rise in cases. And so this infection is with us," he mentioned as reported by The Guardian.
He also stated that it was a huge tragedy that many people in care homes got affected due to the virus and lost their livers. The scientist's statements regarding the longevity of the virus pandemic are on the same lines with many experts around the world.
However, the WHO has recently claimed that the virus can be completely dealt with within two years. The WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the world might be able to rein in the pandemic because of the advances in technology in modern times.
The deadly virus outbreak has infected more than 22.9 million people worldwide and claimed the lives of nearly 800,000 people globally in more than 170 countries. Scientists around the world are currently working to find a cure for the disease as a vaccine is expected by the first quarter of 2021.
