Perhaps in the near future, COVID will turn into “common cold,” according to Paul Hunter, professor in Medicine at Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Report informs referring to The Spectator.
“Within a few years, the vast majority of infections will be asymptomatic or mild nose and throat illnesses. In other words, like the other coronaviruses, it will simply become another cause of the common cold. Indeed, the Zoe Covid Symptom Study has shown that symptoms are already becoming more familiar: the Delta variant usually manifests as a sore throat and runny nose,” reads the article.
He noted that herd immunity would never happen, but we will get to a manageable balance between immunity and infections.
“The other coronaviruses are seasonal and tend to peak in the winter. We can expect this virus to do the same. After this year, we will see winter surges for years and decades to come, but with see fewer and fewer deaths,” he added.
The professor said that new variants create problems because they are much more infectious or because they escape immunity. There are reasonable grounds, however, to believe that the Delta variant may be the virus’s endpoint.
The best-fit variant soon becomes dominant, and evolution slows dramatically.
“The worst of the pandemic is behind us, at least in the UK. But it is essential that the booster shots rollout is successful,” he noted.