Laboratories from all over the world are hard at work on the quest to develop vaccines and treatments for COVID-19. While they could be quite effective at mitigating some of the issues that have been faced, it is likely that the virus will persist despite the best efforts of researchers.
One of the most well-known researchers and advisors in the UK has stated during an interview that COVID-19 will last forever, and regular vaccines would be needed to prevent the spread of the virus as it will evolve in time.
New forms will appear
While some diseases of the past have been eradicated with the help of vaccines, this is not the case for COVID-19. Since the virus is similar to the flu, it will evolve in time, requiring the development of new vaccines to keep it under control.
Before moving forward, it is important to highlight the fact that the researcher is referring to the virus as a persistent issue that will have to be faced even after the current pandemic will be brought under control. Optimistic scientists argue that the pandemic could be over by 2022, as the Spanish Flu lasted from 1918 to 2020.
Faster spreading
The researcher underlined that while the Spanish Flu pandemic did end after two years, the current population is considerably larger and lives in areas with a higher density. There are also more opportunities to travel across large distances, a fact which favors the spread of the virus.
A press release offered by the World Health Organization mentions that the best way to limit the spread of the pandemic is to protect the populations with the highest risk across the world, instead of focusing on the populations of a few countries.
As the flu season comes closer, a larger number of COVID-19 cases is also expected to surface.