Dimitris Kouimtsidis
THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the coronavirus may never go away.
WHO Emergencies Director, Dr Mike Ryan spoke yesterday at a briefing and warned against trying to predict when the virus would disappear.
Even if a vaccine is found, controlling the virus will be a ‘massive effort’.
“It is important to put this on the table: this virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities, and this virus may never go away,” he added.
There are currently more than 100 potential vaccines in development, but Dr Ryan highlighted how measles is still not eliminated completely, despite already having vaccines.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed it was still possible to control the virus.
He also added that there’s no guaranteed way of easing restrictions without triggering a second wave of infections.
This comes as the UN warned that the pandemic was causing widespread distress and mental ill health, particularly in countries where there’s a lack of investment in mental healthcare.
