Sooner or later, Covid-19 could be added as the fifth cold virus to a list of circulating coronaviruses. That is what virologist Bert Niesters of the UMCG says.
Both Niesters and Ab Osterhaus are convinced that we will one day get rid of the corona measures. Once the pandemic has subsided and most of the population has built up immunity, the virologists say an annual Covid shot for the most vulnerable will be sufficient to protect them. According to Niesters, a pandemic usually lasts about two years.
Covid-19 will flare up locally once in a while
“Now we are vaccinating and that is why we get antibodies,” says Niesters in The Telegraph. “But not just because of that. The Covid-19 virus will occasionally flare up locally and then the population will produce antibodies again. Anyone who becomes infected with Covid-19 for the second or third time will notice that the disease will be milder. People who have not taken a vaccine will sooner or later get Covid-19, further increasing herd immunity.”
In harmony
Niesters expects that when the pandemic turns into an endemism, risk groups will receive an annual jab. “And then rather a shot against the delta variant than against the Wuhan variant.” The virologist also expects that Covid-19 can soon be added to the list of cold viruses as the fifth known circulating coronavirus. “To date, there are four human coronaviruses that we see as common cold viruses. These are OC43, 299E, NL63 and HKU1. We can add Covid-19 to that. The challenge is to live in harmony with the virus.”
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