Dr. Mike Ryan, head of the World Health Organization's health emergencies program, wants people to be aware that the coronavirus now sweeping across the world "may never go away."
"The virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities, and this virus may never go away," Ryan said Wednesday. "HIV has not gone away, but we've come to terms with the virus and we have found therapies and we have found the prevention methods, and people don't feel as scared as they did before." There is still so much to learn about the coronavirus, including whether those who get it become immune or resistant, and "the current number of people who've been infected is actually relatively low," Ryan said.
When it comes to a vaccine, "there are no promises in this and there are no dates," he declared, and even if one is created, that does not mean the coronavirus will instantly be eliminated. Recent measles outbreaks are proof that there are "some perfectly effective vaccines on this planet that we have not used effectively for diseases we could have eradicated," Ryan said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What you need to know about last-minute travelThe Week Recommends You can book an awesome trip with a moment’s notice
-
Saudi Arabia could become an AI focal pointUnder the Radar A state-backed AI project hopes to rival China and the United States
-
Crossword: October 29, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
