[ad_1]
GENEVA: The coronavirus may never go away, and populations will have to learn to live with it just as they did with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the World Health Organization (WHO) warned as it gets closer. the global number of deaths from the disease 300,000.
A vaccine could allow countries and economies to reopen completely from blockades and potentially earn millions of dollars for their creators.
But the WHO said the virus could never be completely removed.
“This virus can become another endemic virus in our communities and this virus will never go away,” said Michael Ryan, director of emergencies for the global health body in Geneva. “HIV has not disappeared, but we have come to terms with the virus.”
A coronavirus vaccine could be ready in a year in an “optimistic” scenario, based on data from ongoing trials, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said Thursday.
“We can see the possibility, if everything goes according to plan, that some of them (vaccines) could be ready for approval a year from now,” said Marco Cavaleri, head of vaccine strategy and biological threats at the EMA.
“These are just forecasts based on what we are seeing. But, again, I must emphasize that this is the best case scenario, we know that not all vaccines that are developed may not be authorized and disappear, “he added.
“We also know that there may be delays,” he continued.
However, the agency was “a little skeptical” about reports that a vaccine could be ready as early as September.
The possibility of the disease wandering leaves governments around the world facing a delicate balancing act between suppressing the pathogen and kick-starting economies.
The United States Federal Reserve said prolonged shutdowns to stop the spread of the virus could cause lasting economic damage in the United States.
United States President Donald Trump has been pushing for a rapid resumption of economic activity in the country, often against the advice of health officials, as he tries to boost the world’s largest economy ahead of the election. of November.
Chief infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said the reopening too soon was at risk of triggering uncontrollable outbreaks, but the president on Wednesday rejected the caution call as “not acceptable.”
Past and present world leaders insisted Thursday that any possible Covid-19 vaccine and treatment should be available to everyone free of charge.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan were among more than 140 signatories to a letter saying that no vaccine should be patented, while science should be shared among nations.
The World Health Assembly (WHA), the WHO’s policy-making body, holds its annual general meeting next week.
The signatories asked WHA to join behind the cause.
“Governments and international partners must come together around a global guarantee that ensures that when a safe and effective vaccine is developed, it is produced quickly at scale and made available to all, in all countries, in a comprehensive manner. free, “said the letter.
“The same applies to all treatments, diagnostics, and other technologies for Covid-19.”
The letter was signed by Senegalese President Macky Sall and Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo.
Former presidents and prime ministers among the signatories included Shaukat Aziz, Jan Peter Balkenende, José Manuel Barroso, Gordon Brown, Helen Clark, Felipe González, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Aleksander Kwasniewski, Mary McAleese, Olusegun Obasanjo, and Juan Manuel Santos.
The letter comes amid anger in France after pharmaceutical giant Sanofi said it would reserve the first shipments of any Covid-19 vaccine for the United States.
French multinational chief executive Paul Hudson said the United States would get the first dib because its government was helping to fund vaccine research.
