• Question: how long do you think this covid 19 will last

    Asked by aodm2008 on 21 Apr 2020. This question was also asked by alistair.
    • Photo: Mark Kennedy

      Mark Kennedy answered on 21 Apr 2020:

      That’s a very good, but very difficult question to ask. I suspect the virus will be with us forever now, much in the same way that every year we have a chance of catching a cold or a flu. However, we will eventually develop a vaccine for it which will make it much easier for us to handle, it will just mean we need to get a shot every once in a while.

      With regards to the current restrictions in place, I think it may be a few more months unfortunately before life returns to completely normal. The best thing to do is take it day by day, do little things around the house to help keep you busy, and keep in contact with friends and family using the internet. That will hopefully make it feel much shorter. I’m sorry I don’t have a better answer for you on this, but I don’t work on diseases, so I’m only guessing.

    • Photo: Katherine Benson

      Katherine Benson answered on 23 Apr 2020:

      Nobody really knows the answer to this at the moment, unfortunately. Some people think the virus won’t be going anywhere, and that instead, we need to find ways to fight it, using vaccines and other tools at our disposal like social distancing. Hopefully, within a year we should have a new vaccine to help us fight it, and we should all be back at work and school before too long, even if we have to make changes to the ways that we’re used to doing things.

Comments

  • Photo: Michael

    Michael commented on :

    Morning, good question and one that I am sure is to the forefront of many people’s thinking.
    Short answer is that it probably will never go away, since viruses tend to hang around and it takes a great effort to eradicate anything. We managed it for smallpox but nothing else to date.
    Therefore into the future we have to live with this virus and its cousins. Developing a vaccine will obviously help, as will any treatments that can be developed.
    People’s behaviour will be important in slowing the spread and the vaccine uptake will need to be high. Here, then we are running into the issues associated with the anti-science communities – you will have seen these people on Facebook and news stories of the protests in the US against the shutdown. This kind of behaviour will be one of the big challenges in public health going forward.

  • Photo: aodm2008

    aodm2008 commented on :

    thanks mark thats a very good question

  • modclaire commented on :

    IMPORTANT: This question and its answers are about coronavirus (COVID-19). The information on this page might be out of date or wrong.

    For up-to-date health information and advice, please go to the NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/