Health workers wearing protective clothing prepare to attend patients at the Portimao Arena sports pavilion converted into a field hospital for Covid-19 patients in Portimao, Algarve, on February 9, 2021 (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP ) (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP via Getty Images)
PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON – A growing chorus of doctors and public health officials have warned that even with the massive rollout of safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines, the disease could become endemic.
White House Coronavirus Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel and the Executive Director of the Health Emergencies Program Dr. Mike Ryan of the World Health Organization have all said in recent weeks that the coronavirus may never go away.
To date, more than 107 million people worldwide have contracted Covid-19, with 2.36 million deaths, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.
David Heymann, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, had warned that the virus appeared to be becoming endemic late last year. He confirmed his position earlier this week during a webinar for think tank Chatham House.
“I think if you speak to most epidemiologists and most public health professionals today, they would say that they think this disease will become endemic, at least in the short term and most likely in the long term,” he said.
Heymann is the chair of the WHO’s Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Infectious Hazards and led the infectious disease division of the health department during the SARS epidemic in 2002-2003.
We must learn lessons from 2020 and act quickly. Every day counts.
Dr. Jeremy Farrar
Wellcome Director
He warned that it was not yet possible to be sure of the virus’s fate, as its outcome depends on many unknowns.
“Right now, the emphasis is on saving lives, which it should be, and making sure hospitals aren’t overloaded with Covid patients – and this will be possible,” Heymann said, citing the massive rollout. of Covid vaccines.
‘Need to learn lessons from 2020’
Mass delivery of Covid vaccines began nearly two months ago in many high-income countries and has since gained momentum, but mass immunization of populations will take time.
Certainly, some low-income countries still need to get a single dose of a vaccine to protect people most at risk from the coronavirus.
A doctor takes notes during a training session delivered by Chinese doctors and medical experts via conference call in Maputo, Mozambique on May 21, 2020. Chinese midwives and paediatricians share their experiences with Mozambican doctors on the prevention and treatment of Covid-19 among pregnant women. women and children via conference call at Maputo Central Hospital.
Nie Zuguo | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images
A report published last month by the Economist Intelligence Unit predicted that most of the adult population of advanced economies would be vaccinated by the middle of next year. In contrast, for many middle-income countries, this timeline runs until the beginning of 2023 and even until 2024 for some low-income countries.
It underscores the scale of the challenge of getting the pandemic under control around the world.
“Covid-19 is an endemic infection in humans. The scientific reality is that, with so many people infected worldwide, the virus will continue to mutate,” said Dr. Jeremy Farrar, Director of Wellcome and a member of the UK Science Department. Emergency Advisory Group (Sage).
“Living with this virus doesn’t mean we can’t control it, however. We need to learn lessons from 2020 and act quickly. Every day counts,” he added.
Balancing our lives with endemic diseases
“I think it is good to put this in context and think about the other infectious diseases that are endemic today,” Heymann said at an online event on Wednesday, when asked if policymakers should consider other endemic diseases. respond to the Covid pandemic. .
He mentioned tuberculosis and HIV, as well as four endemic coronaviruses known to cause the common cold.
“We’ve learned to live with all of these infections, we’ve learned how to do our own risk assessments. We have vaccines for some, we have therapies for others, we have diagnostic tests that can help all of us do better. living with these infections. “
“There are some unknowns that make it very difficult for political leaders and public health leaders to make decisions about what the best strategies would be, triggering the fact that we ‘long Covid’ and its impact or occur after even very minor infections, he continued.
“So it’s not about this being a special disease. This is one of many that we need to balance our lives with and understand how to deal with it, as with flu, as with other infections,” says Heymann. said.
A nurse (R) checks a computer with hospital director, Dr. Yutaka Kobayashi, in the coronavirus ward of Sakura General Hospital on February 10, 2021 in Oguchi, Japan. The hospital, like many others in Japan, has seen a steady stream of Covid-19 coronavirus patients over the past year as the country grapples with the ongoing viral pandemic.
Carl Court | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The term “long Covid” refers to patients who suffer from long-term illness after initially contracting the virus, with symptoms such as shortness of breath, migraines and chronic fatigue.
Public debate about the pandemic has largely focused on people with serious or fatal illness, while ongoing medical problems resulting from the virus are often undervalued or misunderstood.
Last month, Long Covid’s largest global study to date found that many of those who suffered from the ongoing illness after infection with the virus were unable to go to work at full speed six months later.