WHO "No End to COVID-19... Will Continue to Appear as Mutations Like Influenza"

▲Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO)
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that COVID-19 is highly likely to continue appearing as a mutated virus similar to the flu.

According to CNBC on the 8th (local time), Mike Ryan, head of the WHO Emergency Response Team, said at a briefing the day before that the possibility of eradicating or eliminating the coronavirus is very low.

Ryan explained that COVID-19 continues to mutate in countries around the world where vaccination rates are low, and as previous hopes to eradicate it diminish, it is highly likely to stay with us.

He added, "I believe this virus is here to stay with us," and said, "It will evolve like the influenza pandemic virus and become one of the other viruses that affect us."

CNBC reported that international health officials and experts have long stated that vaccines, like with other viruses, do not guarantee the eradication of COVID-19.

Several experts, including Moderna CEO St?phane Bancel and White House Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, have warned that the world must live with COVID-19 forever, just like influenza.

Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the WHO COVID-19 technical team, expressed regret over the initial response to COVID-19.

She said, "We had an opportunity at the beginning of this pandemic. This pandemic did not have to be this severe," and added, "If the world had taken early measures to prevent the spread of the virus, today's situation could have been very different."

As COVID-19 variants continue to emerge despite expanded vaccination efforts and infections spread globally, there is a growing view that the prevention system should shift to coexistence with COVID-19?'With Corona'?accepting inconveniences in daily life rather than aiming for complete eradication.

Currently, multiple COVID-19 variants have appeared. The WHO has designated four variants?Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta?as "variants of concern," and five others?Eta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, and Mu?as "variants of interest," one level lower.