Health professionals with protective equipment prepare to serve patients in the Portimão Arena sports pavilion converted into a Covid-19 patient field hospital in Portimão, Algarve, on February 9, 2021. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP ) (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP via Getty Images)
PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON – A growing chorus of doctors and public health officials has warned that even with the mass launch of safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines, the disease could become endemic.
White House coronavirus consultant Dr. Anthony Fauci, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel and Executive Director of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergency Program, Dr. Mike Ryan, said in recent weeks that coronavirus can never disappear.
To date, more than 107 million people worldwide have contracted Covid-19, with 2.36 million deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
David Heymann, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, warned that the virus appeared to be on the verge of becoming endemic at the end of last year. He reaffirmed his position earlier this week during a webinar for the thinkham Chatham House.
“I think if you talk to most epidemiologists and public health workers, they will say today that they believe that this disease will become endemic, at least in the short term and most likely in the long term,” he said.
Heymann is chairman of WHO’s technical and strategic advisory group on infectious risks and led the health agency’s infectious disease unit during the SARS epidemic in 2002-2003.
We need to learn the lessons of 2020 and act quickly. Every day counts.
Dr. Jeremy Farrar
Wellcome Director
He warned that it is still not possible to be sure of the fate of the virus, as its outcome depends on many unknown factors.
“At the moment, the emphasis is on saving lives, which should be, and making sure hospitals are not overloaded with Covid patients – and that will be possible in the future,” said Heymann, citing the mass launch of Covid vaccines .
‘You need to learn 2020 lessons’
Mass distribution of Covid vaccines began in many high-income countries almost two months ago and has since gained momentum, but mass immunization of the population will take time.
To be sure, some low-income countries have not yet received a single dose of a vaccine to protect those most at risk of getting the coronavirus.
A doctor takes notes during a training session given by Chinese doctors and medical specialists via a conference call in Maputo, Mozambique, on May 21, 2020. Chinese obstetricians and pediatricians share their experience with Mozambican doctors on the prevention and treatment of Covid -19 among pregnant women and children via teleconference at Maputo Central Hospital.
Nie Zuguo | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images
A report published by the Economist Intelligence Unit last month projected that the majority of the adult population in advanced economies would be vaccinated in the middle of next year. In contrast, however, this schedule extends to the beginning of 2023 for many middle-income countries and up to 2024 for some low-income countries.
He underscores the scale of the challenge of controlling the pandemic worldwide.
“Covid-19 is an endemic human infection. The scientific reality is that with so many people infected around the world, the virus will continue to mutate,” said Dr. Jeremy Farrar, director of Wellcome and a member of the Kingdom Scientific Institute United. Emergency Advisory Group (Sage).
“Living with this virus does not mean, however, that we cannot control it. We need to learn the lessons of 2020 and act quickly. Every day counts, ”he added.
Balancing our lives with endemic diseases
“I think it’s good to put that into context and think about the other infectious diseases that are endemic today,” said Heymann during an online event on Wednesday, when asked whether lawmakers should be on the lookout for other endemic diseases to respond to the AIDS pandemic. Covid.
He cited tuberculosis and HIV, as well as four endemic coronaviruses that are known to cause the common cold.
“We learned to live with all these infections, we learned to make our own risk assessments. We have vaccines for some, we have therapy for others, we have diagnostic tests that can help us do a better job of living with these infections. “
“There are some unknowns that make it very difficult for political leaders and public health leaders to make decisions about what the best strategies would be, inducing the fact that we do not fully understand ‘long Covid’ and its impact or its occurrence even after minimal infections”, he continued.
“So, this is not a special disease. This is one of many that we will have to balance our lives with and understand how to deal with it as we do with the flu, as we do with other infections, ”Heymann said.
A nurse (R) checks a computer with the Hospital Director, Dr. Yutaka Kobayashi, in the coronavirus ward at Sakura General Hospital on February 10, 2021 in Oguchi, Japan. The hospital, like many others in Japan, saw a consistent flow of Covid-19 coronavirus patients over the past year, as the country fights the ongoing viral pandemic.
Carl Court | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The term “long Covid” refers to patients who suffer from prolonged illness after initially contracting the virus, with symptoms that include shortness of breath, migraines and chronic fatigue.
Public pandemic discourse has largely focused on people with serious or fatal illnesses, while ongoing medical problems as a result of the virus are often underestimated or misunderstood.
Last month, Covid’s largest global study to date found that many of those suffering from the ongoing illness after being infected with the virus failed to return to work at full capacity six months later.