Personally, I don’t believe there is ever going to be a coronavirus vaccine.
Why do I believe that?
The last successful vaccine came out in the 50s.
If that is anything to go by, the prospect of a coronavirus vaccine is very, very slim.
I think in the best case scenario, pharmaceutical companies will develop something similar to the ‘flu vaccine’.
I am not sure if anyone has noticed, even with the flu vaccine, the same amount of people get ill and die every year from the flu.
Has anyone even bothered to compare the amount of people that got ill and died from flu before the development of the flu vaccine and the amount of people that are getting ill and dying now that we have the flu vaccine?
I can wager there will be no difference in the numbers.
What I am hundred percent certain is going to happen is this: in a few months time, pharmaceutical companies under pressure to justify the massive resources given to them, will come up with something they call a vaccine.
Like the flu vaccine, the same amount of people will continue to fall ill and die and their spin doctors will cook up some type of explanation.
The reality is this: they have not produced a vaccine for decades.
Anyone who believes there is going to be a coronavirus vaccine the next few months is smoking something.
Develop a Strategy for Living with Covid-19
So, if there is never going to be a coronavirus vaccine, how can our economies be safely opened?
That is something our policy makers should be contemplating.
But I have some thoughts I would like to share with you.
Instead of sitting and hoping that a vaccine would drop from the heavens and coronavirus would disappear as President
Trump put it, we need to develop strategy for living with coronavirus.
We need to first accept the inevitability of the virus being with us for a long time to come.
Personally, I think most of the resources that are been spent on vaccine development, should be spent on developing effective treatment.
I strongly believe coronavirus treatment is sat in the pharmacies of all hospitals but we are not looking in its direction.
Develop Effective Test, Track & Trace Strategy
Second, we need to get the test, track and trace to work effectively.
I know of someone who travelled from France a few weeks ago.
He was told to quarantine for fourteen days when he arrived at the airport.
On his way home, he went sightseeing.
He said since he was going to be stuck at home for fourteen days, he might as well enjoy his last day of freedom.
Thankfully, he did not have the virus.
Imagine if he had the virus, he would have spread it to lots of people.
Someone who is been paid a boat load of money came up with the brilliant idea that arrivals from high risk countries should be allowed to travel by public transport, mix with other passengers before going home to quarantine.
Brilliant.
He/she probably deserve a Noble Prize for such a brilliant idea.
Effective Test, Track and Trace
Countries that have dealt effectively with the virus starts the process from the airport.
When someone lands at their airport, they are immediately tested and bused to a quarantine centre where they stay for fourteen days.
Then their movements are tracked using their phones.
With such a method, they can actually be traced if they got into contact with an infected person.
That is how an effective test, track and trace system works.
People are not allowed to go on public transport to mix with other people until the authorities are certain they are not carrying the virus.
Privacy Concern?
And for those who are worried about privacy, I have news for you.
If you ever imagine Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey are the only people harvesting your data, I will like to know what you are smoking.
Here is a breaking news for you: from the moment you wake up, your data starts to be collected.
So, don’t delude yourself by thinking because there is no track and trace app, your data is not been harvested.
You don’t believe me, ask German Chancellor Mrs. Merkel the story about her telephone calls.
Choosing Between Education and Entertainment
Like my guy/gal above, some brilliant person decided schools should be open while bars and pubs also remain open.
Even when this steps are certain to increase the risk of the virus spreading.
The problem is this, our elected officials have still not grasped the seriousness of the situation.
This is war.
If there were bombs and bullets flying around us, will our biggest worries be people’s desire for drink?
This is war.
The only difference between this war and a real combat is, our current enemy is more lethal than bombs and bullets.
Our focus should be on saving lives not entertainment.
The Joke About Home Spread
If you live in the small town in which I live, you are constantly reminded we are in the middle of a global pandemic.
Go into the big cities and you see a completely different picture.
People in the big cities go about their business as if things are normal.
This is because our elected officials are giving them confusing messages.
At least at home, people know the situation with everyone, so they take precaution to ensure they do not infect their loves ones.
Public places attract different people with varying attitudes to the virus.
The simple fact is this, those who are careful will remain responsible irrespective of their surroundings.
The irresponsible Covid-19 deniers will continue to be irresponsible at home or in public.
Even if they risk killing their own grandparents.
Add alcohol the mix?
God help us.
What’s the Best Strategy for Living with Coronavirus?
I will answer this question in part two of this article, look out for it.
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