As the entire world is trying hard to contain the deadly coronavirus pandemic, a top UK expert has now shockingly warned that this pathogen will be there among us for decades even if a vaccine is developed by the end of this year. Professor Robin Shattock, who is leading the second phase of the clinical trials of Imperial College vaccine believes that coronavirus could live among us like seasonal flu, and we should take annual vaccine boosters to keep the virus in check.
The necessity of annual boosters
According to Shattock, a probable COVID-19 vaccine that could be developed soon will work similarly to that influenza vaccine, and it demands annual boosters to maintain herd immunity. When it comes to coronavirus vaccine, a genetic material will be extracted from, and it will produce spike proteins in the human body. These spike proteins will result in the production of antibodies, that could stop the virus from causing the infection.
“It’s highly likely that we may need vaccinations to be boosted, possibly even on an annual basis, as we do for influenza. One of the advantages our particular approach has is that it’s a low dose and it can be used as frequently as required,” said Shattock during a recent interaction with BBC’s Radio Four.
Coronavirus mutation continues to worry
A few weeks back, a separate study conducted by researchers at the University of Zhejiang had suggested that coronavirus had already mutated to more than 30 different strains. According to these researchers, finding an overall cure to coronavirus could be difficult, as different strains of this pathogen have affected people from different parts of the world.
The finding of researchers at Zhejiang University literally shocked medical experts, and they claimed that the entire global healthcare system had underestimated the mutation capabilities of this pathogen.
