Virus Could End in Two Years Says WHO

The coronavirus could end in two years, says World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Speaking in Geneva on 20 August 2020, he explained the potential is there, provided national unity and global solidarity hold firm. However, this is not the time to celebrate yet.

The Virus Could End in Two Years, Like Spanish Flu

The bulk of Spanish Flu was over in two years, the Director-General of World Health Organization points out. It infected a third of the world’s population, and killed between 1% and 6% of them during four waves. However, he hopes to halt COVID-19 in a shorter period because current medical technology has greatly improved.

But, the WHO head warns, there are more people per square mile compared to 1918 when Spanish Flu broke out. And we are far more interconnected than back then. Therefore, other medical professionals are warning we may still need a regular vaccine shot. Even if the bulk of the virus could end in two years

We Have the Technology and Knowledge to Stop It

The Spanish Flu killed 675,000 people in the US alone , while doctors watched largely helplessly. Historians can only estimate total infections and deaths due to insufficient testing, and infected people not showing symptoms.

We may well have the knowledge and technology to ensure the virus ends in two year’s time. But this rests on the assumption of having sufficient health workers with adequate protection. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus did not spare his words when railing against corruption in South Africa. “If health workers work without personal protective protection, we’re risking their lives”, he told his audience. “And that also risks the lives of the people they serve. It’s murder.”

Could those thieves be committing a deadly sin when they steal money intended for personal protective equipment. And could we too, if we believe the virus is not our problem. If we took no protective measures ourselves?

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Preview Image: Coromandel Hospital Notice Board