The professor is convinced that we have only survived the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the biggest challenge is to get closer

Professor P. Piotas was still 27 years old. Century helped discover the Ebola virus, led the search for treatment for HIV, AIDS, and this year was infected with coronavirus.

Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and adviser to coronavirus to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, gave an interview to Horizon on how COVID-19 changed its approach to the disease, why we needed the vaccine and the long-term effects of the pandemic.

– You have been looking for ways to fight viruses for 40 years. You have recently been diagnosed with coronavirus. How are you?

– It has been three months since the onset of the disease until I have fully recovered. I feel pretty good now. My experience has shown that COVID 19 is not just the flu, but that dying in resuscitation does not describe the entire current situation, there are many things among the factors mentioned.

It gave me new ideas. Now I know the virus, not just analyzing it or fighting it. I have a completely different perspective.

– Explain in detail.

– First of all, this crisis has affected people. Very often, in the case of COVID-19, the smoothing of the curve is emphasized and people are hardly mentioned. Second, it is not the flu and the disease that is not treated in the intensive care unit. There will be many people who will develop chronic diseases.

As a result, I feel twice as motivated to fight the virus. I have struggled with viruses for most of my life, and now I have become ill. I think human experience is very important. In Dutch, there is even that term: “ervaringsdeskundige” (expert by experience). There are not enough experts to explain what benefits people. You’re also talking to [virusų] affected people I am from the AIDS movement. In the case of HIV, we would not dream of searching, even investigating, not including people living with HIV. My point of view is as follows.

– There are currently around 9 million people worldwide. cases of coronavirus, the pandemic covered South America. What do you think the current situation is?

– First of all, all the numbers are really lower, because these are confirmed cases. We are probably approaching 20 million. infected and fast [turėsime] half a million deaths.

Along with HIV, which is a silent epidemic and still kills 600,000 people each year, Spanish flu is not only the largest and [didžiausia] public crisis in peacetime.

As for Europe, virtually all countries have managed to stop the spread of the virus, which is good news. Society is returning to normal rhythm, easing safeguards.

But now we have to prepare for the so-called second wave. I hope it is not a tsunami, but outbreaks that we have already had, for example, in a meat packing plant in Germany or Korea around nightclubs. There are still outbreaks in some UK nursing homes. I think we should prepare for such things now.

In fact, this is only the beginning of a pandemic. As long as people are susceptible to infection, the virus will infect us because it needs our cells to survive.

– Are there reasons for optimism?

The good news is the unprecedented collaboration of scientists. It’s hard to keep up with all the new information and scientific data, it’s hard to believe they were only five months old.

Sometimes I say, “Wow, how do you manage to read all the posts?” On the other hand, it is good because information was not shared during previous pandemics. Another unprecedented thing is that the state and the medical field spend a lot of money on vaccine development and treatment.

– If we have only survived the start of a pandemic, how long can it last?

– I don’t have a crystal ball, I still guess it can last for several years. I think the vaccine would help a lot, on the other hand, I doubt it is 100 percent. effective. Hundreds of millions of vaccines are promised to be produced in October. <...> It could also be 2021, and that would help control the epidemic.

We need to continue to change the way we communicate. In Japan, for example, people wear used masks if they only catch a cold so as not to infect others. You not only need to trust a magic shot, but also change your behavior.

– The European Commission has raised almost € 10 billion. to be used for vaccines, treatment, testing, and strengthening of the health care system. Who do you think needs this money the most and is it enough?

– Most of the funds are necessary for the development and production of the vaccine. It is essential that funding is not limited to research and development. [vakcinos] but also for those countries where the vaccine is not produced or that are poorer. It may seem like a lot, but it is not enough.

– Why?

– There is something else unprecedented: Billions of people should be vaccinated, not millions. This has not happened before. 4 or 5 billion people will need the vaccine. In addition, the vaccine will require billions of glass vials; These basic problems also need to be addressed.

Companies, governments must take risks and invest in the production of vaccines without knowing if the vaccine will be effective. Another thing is the so-called nationalism of the vaccine. It all started when the United States announced that a vaccine made in the United States would be administered to Americans. If each country does this, the majority of the world population will not receive the vaccine, since only a few countries produce it.

– How to ensure that no one is left out?

– A difficult question. I think this will eventually become a political problem. Therefore, I emphasize that the European Commission’s fundraising initiative is part of that. The money is not raised just for the development of the vaccine. The money is raised to create a vaccine that is accessible to anyone who needs it. That is a big difference.

– In an interview in June, you said that without a vaccine, life will not return to normal. Hasn’t your opinion changed?

– Now there are more nuances. <...> On the other hand, I still think that without the vaccine, it will be extremely difficult to return to a normal life.

Much will depend on whether the vaccine is safe from infection. In other words, if I am vaccinated, does it protect me from illness or, as in the case of the flu, does the vaccine protect me from serious complications and mortality? There are many unknowns. This seems to me the most important thing, because without a vaccine, we will have to live with this virus for years.

– Even if the vaccine protects people from the disease, you said that many will suffer from chronic diseases. What behavior, response model to form in the long term?

– Everyone is currently in a severe crisis. While we have some time to prepare for the second wave of outbreaks, we also need a long-term strategy. This is obvious when you think about the economic and social spheres, even [galvojant] on the effects on mental health. Not only because of the epidemic, but also because of the measures to combat it: being isolated, children do not go to school, etc. – It can highlight social inequality, bias. Epidemics often highlight vulnerabilities and inequalities in society. It goes beyond the biological and medical aspects, but we need to be prepared for all that now.