Coronavirus ‘here for many years to come’, say experts

Medical experts are warning that the UK will be living with coronavirus for many years to come and even a vaccine is unlikely to eliminate it for good.

Following an announcement by the Prime Minister that he hoped for a return to normality by Christmas, the Commons' Health Committee has heard that ‘things will not be done by Christmas’.

Sir Jeremy Farrar, Wellcome Trust director and a member of Sage, the government advisory body, emphasised to MPs that it was important to be realistic that the virus would still be here and said that he believed the world would be living with coronavirus for ‘very many, many years to come’.

Given the further easing of lockdown measures, Farrar also cautioned against complacency this Summer, saying the period was a ‘crucial phase’ to prevent a second wave.

Prof Sir John Bell, of the University of Oxford, echoed the same thoughts, He told MPs that the ‘reality is that this pathogen is here forever’. He also stated that: “The vaccine is unlikely to have a durable effect that'll last for a very long time, so we're going to have to have a continual cycle of vaccinations, and then more disease, and more vaccinations and more disease.”

According to the government, 45,422 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 21 July. Separate figures published by the UK's statistics agencies show there have now been 56,100 deaths registered in the UK where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate.