Is this the end of covid-19?
“We’re not there yet”, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in early December. The good news is that today 90% of the world’s population has some immunity against Covid-19. But, “ gaps in surveillance, testing, sequencing and vaccination continue to create the perfect conditions for the emergence of a worrisome new variant that could cause significant mortality.”explained WHO DG Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
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The WHO says the pandemic is over, but some experts disagree. “It is always an extremely important moment, often the subject of controversy”explains Philippe Sansonetti, microbiologist at Pasteur Institute. He believes that the WHO is not capable of that “ whistle the end » of the pandemic. In fact, the researchers rather think of a mutation of the pandemic towards one seasonal virus. Covid-19 thus continues to circulate and causes relapses of the disease. As is the case with winter flu and measles.
Probably never. In fact, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) has existed since 2003 across the globe. He disappeared with containment and quarantine rules. We can also mention the case of smallpox. This disease had been extinguished in 1980 with mass vaccination by the WHO. Obviously, this case is very rare.
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“ To eradicate a virus, it is necessary for the disease to be clinically visible, for there to be no animal reservoir and to have a highly effective vaccine that protects for life. Covid-19 ticks all the wrong boxes says Philippe Sansonetti. In fact, some victims of Covid-19 are asymptomatic. So they do not respect barrier or isolation measures. In addition, this virus can be transmitted to animals. So they can get contaminated, re-contaminate humans, and it’s an endless loop. Vaccination is known to protect against complications, but not against spread. We can contract the virus several times.