Pharmaceutical, virology, immunology and logistics experts on March 11 made predictions and conditions to declare victory over the pandemic.
Ms. Pamela Bjorkman, a structural biologist at the California Institute of Technology, said that Covid-19 will be repelled when everyone in the world is vaccinated and there are no more new infections.
Meanwhile, Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at the University of California-San Francisco, believes that the pandemic will end when the number of deaths from Covid-19 drops to levels commonly seen in seasonal flu.
It is difficult to predict anything until next winter – when the epidemic may peak.
To do that, Peter Pitts, president and co-founder of the Center for Health in the Public Interest, wants Americans to see vaccination as a patriotic duty.
To have herd immunity, children also need to be vaccinated, according to professor Vivian Riefberg from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.
A vaccination site in Paterson, New Jersey, allows vaccinations without an appointment.
The pandemic could end with only small, controlled outbreaks, says Prakash Nagarkatti, an immunologist and vice president for research at the University of South Carolina at Columbia.
The economic issue was raised by Arti Rai, an expert on health law at Duke University School of Law.
Prashant Yadav, a medical supply chain expert at the Center for Global Development, said it is necessary to prepare production and distribution lines to deal with small-scale outbreaks.
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee, urged vigilance as the United States reopens.
One problem is that vaccinating all people will take more time.
Mai Dung (According to USA Today)