AZ, Pfizer and Moderna officials all predict the end of Corona 19 next year

[이데일리 김보겸 기자] Officials of the three major COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers are drawing attention as they predict the possibility of an end to COVID-19 next year. The reason is that the likelihood of a deadly mutant virus that penetrates and infects the immune system formed by the vaccine is low. They are of the opinion that the vaccination rate should be increased.

Professors who participated in the research and development of AstraZeneca (AZ) in the UK argued this. First, Sarah Gilbert, a professor at Oxford University, who co-developed the AZ vaccine, predicted that “no mutation more powerful than the delta mutation will emerge.” It is judged that it is difficult to evolve into a lethal mutation while being highly contagious enough to evade the existing immunity. Professor Gilbert said, “In general, the easier a virus spreads, the lower the fatality rate.”

Professor John Bell, University of Oxford

Another professor involved in the development of the AZ vaccine, Professor John Bell at Oxford University, also predicted that by the spring of next year, Corona 19 will become the level of the common cold. Professor Bell said, “The UK’s Corona 19 situation has escaped the worst and will be able to get through this winter.” This is because the number of people vaccinated in the UK is increasing and the virus tends to weaken as it spreads, he said. In the UK, 82% of people aged 16 and over have completed the second dose so far, and those over 50 have started the third dose (booster shot). The UK Public Health Service estimates that vaccinations have prevented 123,100 deaths in the UK.

Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb

Scott Gottlieb, former director of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), who also serves on the board of US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, also helped. He also predicted that the delta mutation would be the last of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Unless something unexpected happens, such as a mutation that evades vaccine immunity, this will be the last pandemic,” he said.

He also expressed the view that the COVID-19 virus will become a cold-like disease. Gottlieb said, “The coronavirus will continue to spread, but it will not be as severe as it is now.”

He voiced the need for higher vaccination rates. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 76.7% of American adults who have received at least one dose of the vaccine, but 80 to 85% of the population must be vaccinated to reduce the number of confirmed cases and slow the spread of the virus.

In the US, the CEO of Moderna has even announced the end of Corona 19 within a year. Moderna CEO Stefan Bansel said he could get back to work by the middle of next year as vaccine manufacturers ramp up production. This also presupposes that it is possible to end COVID-19 only by raising the vaccination rate.

Stefan Bansel, CEO of Moderna (Photo Credit: AFP)