“We will never be able to live normally again without a corona vaccine,” world-renowned virologist Peter Piot told Knack magazine. The professor at London Imperial College was himself felled by Covid-19. After a long illness, including hospitalization, he is on the mend again.
Vaccine
“The only real exit strategy from this crisis is a vaccine that can be rolled out worldwide,” Piot continues. “That implies not only developing a vaccine, but also making billions of doses and ampoules, which is a huge challenge in industrial logistics alone. Despite the efforts, it is still not certain that it will be possible to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus. At worst, there is nothing we can do but try to limit the damage. ”
Medicine
“We must also remain modest as far as the development of medicines is concerned,” the professor continues. “After many years of intensive research, we still don’t have a cure for the flu. You can intervene somewhat on the symptoms and shorten the disease, but it is not a real treatment. There is prospect of an initial treatment for Covid-19, but if you are too advanced in the disease it will no longer help. It is unlikely how difficult it is to get a handle on this virus. We will necessarily have to think deeply about which considerations we will make, what balance between public health and the economy we will use. ”
Economy
Piot warns against the economic consequences of the pandemic. “We shouldn’t doubt it: the economic shock wave causing the coronavirus will be greater than it was after the 2008 financial crisis. The European Commission considers it the biggest crisis of our time. There will be serious implications regarding poverty and unemployment, and how we are going to absorb them in our social model. The question will arise whether investments can still be made in the fight against global warming, because it is clearly accelerating. You can also say that more people die of cancer or the effects of smoking, but too few realize how disruptive this virus is for our society. ”
Sources): Knack (€) –
– .
