Lulu Garcia-Navarro made her startling claim in NPR on August 9, 2020. And she suggested it could be true with, or without a vaccine. The mist cleared when she explained how COVID may be (harmlessly) with us forever. That’s because humans have never been particularly good at eradicating entire viruses.
COVID May Be (Harmlessly) with Us Forever Without Isolating
Lulu Garcia-Navarro was fresh from an interview with Vineet Menachery, a coronavirus researcher at University of Texas Medical Branch. Vineet had explained to her how herd immunity will eventually slow the spread. Certainly the number of infected people is growing, and we need answers to what-if questions like that.
Vineet appeared convinced COVID may be (harmlessly) with us forever. He said he would be surprised if we were still face masking and distancing in three years’ time. That’s especially because he believes COVID-19 could be no more serious than a common cold by then. His opinions run counter to other considered scenarios. We wanted to know why he seemed so sure about this.
Why Vineet Menachery Feels So Strongly About This
The coronavirus researcher from University of Texas points out humans only eliminated the smallpox virus out of many we tried. However, the rest of them are still in the animal populations they came from, and they could return. Moreover, we don’t yet have a clear vision how long immunity from a COVID-19 vaccine could last.
If it’s similar to a common cold one, then this could only be a few years “until we eventually reached herd immunity” he says. Vineet reinforces his opinion COVID may be (harmlessly) with us forever by referring to the Common Cold coronavirus. This has been around since the Egyptian Ebers Papyrus described it around 1500 BC.
The author of that ancient work also described heart disease, dementia, intestinal diseases and many other serious matters on the same scroll. Therefore, Vineet suggests the Common Cold may have been a serious disease until herd immunity took over. And this could therefore happen with COVID-19 too.
Related
Farewell to Herd Immunity from COVID-19
Antibodies Decay Quickly In Small Study
Preview Image: Portion of the Ebers Papyrus
