The new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) could become endemic like HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and populations around the world will have to learn to live with it, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
As some countries begin gradually easing lockdown restrictions, the WHO on Wednesday [May 13, 2020] said COVID-19 may never be wiped out entirely.
"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. HIV has not gone away, but we have come to terms with the virus," WHO emergencies expert, Dr Michael Ryan said at an online media briefing on Wednesday.
"I think it is important we are realistic and I don't think anyone can predict when this disease will disappear. 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," Ryan said.
'Massive moonshot'
However, Ryan said the world had some control over how it coped with the disease, although this would take a "massive effort" even if a vaccine were found, a prospect he described as a "massive moonshot".
More than 100 potential vaccines are being developed, including several in clinical trials, but experts have underscored the difficulties of finding ones that are effective against coronaviruses. Ryan noted vaccines exist for other illnesses, such as measles, that have not been eliminated.
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