The CMO predicts a "wide portfolio" of Covid vaccines in two years' time
The Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said that coronavirus will be treated like flu in the future, which is likely to bring an end to local lockdowns.
Whitty stressed that the virus is not going anywhere, however he said that a "wide portfolio" of Covid-19 vaccines could be rolled out in two years.
The CMO stressed the need for caution in the meantime amid uncertain times.
Speaking at this year's
Public Health Conference, Chris Whitty said there will be a definite surge in infections in the coming months.
As reported by
Sky News, the CMO said: "There are going to be lots of bumps and twists on the road from here on in.
"There will definitely be another surge at some point, whether it's before winter or next winter, we don't know," he added.
Appearing on a Royal Society of Medicine webinar yesterday, Chris Whitty said scientists' ability to adapt vaccines to potential new variants of the virus will "find a way through."
The CMO said: "I think this is a matter of probably the next year or two whilst we understand how to do this and find a way of responding rapidly to variants."
In two years' time, Whitty said, "I think we're going to have a very wide portfolio of vaccines."
He told participants of the webinar that, nowadays, vaccines can be adapted to new variants "incredibly fast."
The CMO said that the idea of stopping new Covid variants from entering the UK is simply "not a realistic starting point."
He said: "Anybody who believes that they can actually just put up some border policy or some overall policy that stops the possibility [of Covid-19 variants]" is "misunderstanding the problem completely."
His comments come after 31,147,444 people have received their first dose of the Covid vaccine.
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