WHO official cautions that even with vaccine, coronavirus 'may never go away'

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.

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