COVID-19 Nirvana Round the Corner?

Coronavirus has become less potent and weakened over the course of time. Italian infectious disease specialist Professor Matteo Basseti claims that it could disappear without the need for a vaccine. Professor Basseti stated that "It was like an aggressive tiger in March and April but now it’s like a wild cat. Even elderly patients, aged 80 or 90, are now sitting up in bed and they are breathing without help. The same patients would have died in two or three days before.”

According to the Professor, the virus could have undergone genetic mutation and lost its potency over the recent months. Also, there is more awareness of the disease now and hence management has become easier. The lockdown, social distancing and wearing masks has resulted in the reduction of viral load. Thus fewer people are getting infected and it could end up killing the virus eventually.

The coronavirus outbreak has infected millions of people and resulted in thousands of deaths. There is an ongoing pressure on researchers to develop a vaccine to combat the potent virus.

Professor Basseti’s claims have been disputed by specialists from around the world as infection rates continue to climb globally. Experts warned that without scientifically strong evidence, one should not downplay the risk posed by the highly infectious virus.

Dr. Bharat Oankhania, a senior lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School said that the claim is optimistic in the short term and stated, "It will if it has no one to infect. If we have a successful vaccine then we’ll be able to do what we did with smallpox. But because it’s so infectious and widespread, it won’t go away for a very long time.”

Source-Medindia