The novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 could become endemic like HIV, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) as reported by Reuters. They claimed this on Wednesday and warned against any attempt to predict how long it would keep circulating and calling for a “massive effort” to counter it.
“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,” WHO emergencies expert Mike Ryan said an online briefing.
“I think it is important we are realistic and I don’t think anyone can predict when this disease will disappear,” he added. “I think there are no promises in this and there are no dates. This disease may settle into a long problem, or it may not be.”
However, he also said that the world had some control over how it coped with the disease, although this would take a “massive effort” even if a vaccine was found — a prospect he described as a “massive moonshot.”
At present, there are over 100 vaccines being developed to fight the virus. There are also ongoing clinical trials, but experts have underscored the difficulties of finding vaccines that are effective against coronaviruses.
Ryan noted that vaccines exist for other illnesses, such as measles, that have not been eliminated.
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