Covid will become seasonal & herd immunity unlikely, says Govt adviser
A Government scientific adviser has said Covid is unlikely to be eradicated entirely and true herd immunity is doubtful.
Professor Andrew Hayward told BBC Radio 4 that Covid would likely continue to mutate and the “nature of the virus” meant it would become a seasonal infection.
He said: “I think the nature of this infection and the nature of the vaccines is such that the level of immunity that is achieved is not enough to consider that.
“If someone could come up with a vaccine that was not only 95 per cent protective against severe disease but 95 per cent protective against infection then, yes, we would stand a chance of eradicating it.”
He added: “I think it is a pretty distant prospect and we need to get used to the concept that this will become what we call an endemic disease rather than a pandemic disease. A disease that is with us all the time - probably transmits seasonally a bit like influenza where we see winter outbreaks.”
It comes as the World Health Organization urged the 20 most powerful world leaders to overturn the “disgraceful” global imbalance in access to Covid-19vaccines.
He said: “I think the nature of this infection and the nature of the vaccines is such that the level of immunity that is achieved is not enough to consider that.
“If someone could come up with a vaccine that was not only 95 per cent protective against severe disease but 95 per cent protective against infection then, yes, we would stand a chance of eradicating it.”
He added: “I think it is a pretty distant prospect and we need to get used to the concept that this will become what we call an endemic disease rather than a pandemic disease. A disease that is with us all the time - probably transmits seasonally a bit like influenza where we see winter outbreaks.”
It comes as the World Health Organization urged the 20 most powerful world leaders to overturn the “disgraceful” global imbalance in access to Covid-19vaccines.