Sunetra Gupta, an epidemiologist and professor at Oxford University, revealed why most people will not require a COVID-19 vaccine. Gupta, who is best known for her argument on how lockdowns are not a long-term solution to contain COVID-19, stated that we will eventually have to live with the virus -- as we do with influenza.
“What we’ve seen is that in normal, healthy people, who are not elderly or frail or don’t have comorbidities, this virus is not something to worry about no more than how we worry about flu,” professor Gupta said in an interview with Hindustan Times.
Further reinforcing her statement, she added how the virus, when it does come into existence, will be used to treat the vulnerable. "Most of us don't need the vaccine," she said.
She further went on to state that the pandemic will end naturally and become a part of our lives just like like influenza. “Hopefully with a lower death toll than influenza. I think it is fairly easy to make a vaccine for coronavirus. By the end of this summer, we should have proof that the vaccine works,” she added.
The professor has discussed that even if lockdowns are a good way to curb the spread, they cannot keep the virus out for long. “A lockdown is a noble and a sensible idea to keep the virus out but is very difficult to put in place without non-pharmaceutical interventions,” she stated.
Gupta also called out the 'second wave', saying that it is essentially the first wave that is reaching in different geographical locations. “However, there have been countries that have successfully managed to implement the lockdown and are now facing a resurgence of the virus,” she noted.
