Coronavirus is here to stay even in the presence of effective vaccine, says health expert

NIRMAL YESODA

As the entire global healthcare sector is busy containing the coronavirus pandemic, a UK health expert has warned that coronavirus will stay here, even if we succeed in developing a vaccine. These remarks are being made by Sir Mark Walport, a key member of the UK government’s Scientific Advisory Group.

According to Walport, COVID-19 is not like smallpox which can be wiped out from the world using vaccination. He also made it clear that the coronavirus could stay in the world in one form or another, and the only possible way to stay away from infection is by taking annual immune boosters.

Earlier, Soumya Swaminathan, a top WHO official had also revealed that vaccination is not capable enough to completely eradicate coronavirus from the planet. Soumya believes that humans should learn to live with the virus, as a complete safe haven in the near future is completely impossible.

A few weeks back, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases had suggested that coronavirus is a perfect storm with no end in near sight. He also added that the virus will resurge whenever it gets a chance, and it is highly necessary to adopt healthy social distancing norms to stay away from the pandemic.

Amid all the attempts to contain this pandemic, coronavirus is continuing its killing spree in all nooks of the world. According to the latest statistics, there are 23 million positive cases in the world, and the total number of deaths has already crossed 8,12,000.

In India alone, there are more than 3.1 million recorded positive cases. The number of deaths in India has crossed 57,000, and this count is expected to go up in the coming days, considering the rate at which this pandemic is spreading in the rural areas of the country.