‘COVID-19 may last long despite vaccine rollout’

People arrive to receive a dose of Chinese-made Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in Serbia. Pic/AFP

The head of the EU's illness management company warned on Friday that the novel Coronavirus could last indefinitely even as global infections slowed by nearly half in the last month and vaccine rollouts gathered pace in parts of the world.

In an interview, ECDC chief Andrea Ammon urged European nations particularly to not drop their guard in opposition to a virus that "seems very well adapted to humans" and will require consultants to tweak vaccines over time, as is the case with the seasonal flu.

"So we should be prepared that it will remain with us," said Ammon, head of the Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

After the recent harsh wave of a pandemic that began in China more than 12 months ago, glimmers of hope flickered as recent data confirmed the speed of recent COVID-19 infections has slowed by 44.5 per cent worldwide over the previous month.

But illness consultants warned that vaccines will not finish the pandemic and that all nations should obtain doses in a quick and truthful method.

The European Medicines Agency has so far approved vaccines for the bloc developed by US-German firm Pfizer-BioNTech, US firm Moderna and British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca with Oxford University.

The EMA said on Friday it had started a "rolling review" of a vaccine from German manufacturer CureVac, the first step towards possible authorisation.

Pak approves China's CanSino vaccine for emergency use
China's CanSino COVID-19 vaccine has become the second Chinese vaccine to be approved by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan on Friday, Special Assistant to the Pakistani Prime Minister on Health Faisal Sultan said. Earlier in January, Pakistan approved China's Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use after evaluating its safety and quality. Pakistan officially launched its vaccination drive on February 3.

CDC's roadmap for reopening schools
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that schools adopt "essential elements", including wearing masks, physical distancing and monitoring the level of spread in the community. It also calls for schools to implement a testing programme.

10,88,08,348
TOTAL Number OF CORONAVIRUS

CASES IN THE WORLD

23,95,915
Number OF DEATHS WORLDWIDE

8,08,37,108
Number OF RECOVERED PATIENTS

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