Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the World
Health Organization’s chief scientist, told the Financial Times’ Global
Boardroom webinar on Wednesday: She said:In a four to five-year timeframe that we
could be looking at controlling this.”
Swaminathan said a vaccine
appeared to be the “best way out” at present but warned there were lots of “ifs
and buts” about its safety, production and equitable distribution.
The development of an effective
vaccine and successful confinement measures were both among the factors that
would ultimately determine the pandemic’s duration, she added, the FT reported.
To date, more than 4.3 million
people have contracted the Covid-19 infection, with 297,465 deaths worldwide,
according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
It is possible the virus ‘may
never go away’
A global public health crisis has
meant countries have effectively had to shut down, with many world leaders
imposing stringent restrictions on the daily lives of billions of people.
The lockdown measures, which vary
in their application but broadly include school closures, bans on public
gatherings and social distancing, are expected to result in the worst economic
downturn since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
In recent weeks, some countries
have sought to gradually relax restrictions, allowing some shops and factories
to reopen.However, the emergence of new Covid-19 cases in South Korea and China
has exacerbated concerns about the potential for a second wave of infections.
The International Energy Agency
on Thursday estimated that the number of people living under some form of confinement
measures at the end of May would drop to 2.8 billion people worldwide, down
from a recent peak of 4 billion.