Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, co-developer of the Corona vaccine from AstraZeneca, gave encouraging predictions about the COVID-19 coronavirus. He said that COVID-19 is less likely to mutate into a more lethal variant and will eventually become like the common cold.
"We've coexisted with 4 different human coronaviruses and we don't think much about it anymore and in the end, this SARS-CoV-2 will be one of them," he predicted.
"The question is just how long it will take us to get there and what we have to do to control it at this point," he added.
He stated that the virus tends to become weaker after circulating to many human populations, including the Corona virus.
"We normally see that viruses will become less dangerous as they circulate more easily and there is no reason to think we will have a more virulent version of SARS-CoV-2," he said.
According to him, the Corona virus will only cause mild illness later. It is unlikely that it will mutate to a strain that can escape vaccine protection because there is not much room for the virus to develop any further.
On the other hand, Moderna's Chief Executive, Stephane Bancel said that according to him, the COVID-19 pandemic could end within the next year as increased vaccine production guarantees global supplies.
"If you look at the expansion of production capacity across this industry over the last six months, sufficient doses will be available by the middle of next year so that everyone on Earth can be vaccinated. Boosters should also be possible to the extent necessary," he told Swiss newspaper Neue. Zuercher Zeitung.
"Those who are not vaccinated will acquire immunity themselves naturally, because the Delta variant is highly contagious. This way we will end up in a situation similar to the flu," he said.
Asked if that meant the world would return to normal in the second half of next year, he said, "From today, within a year, I assume."