For a certain number of French people, the hope that the coronavirus will die out with the arrival of the summer heat or that collective immunity is reached was strong. But the months go by and the pandemic seems to get even bigger, revealing the possibility that Covid-19 is definitely a part of our future.
Covid-19: a virus that has started to be permanent
Even with the imminent arrival of a vaccine, it is likely that SARS-Cov-2 will never go away completely. Over time, this virus could evolve and become endemic (habitual presence of a disease in a specific population or region, with a stable incidence). Karine Lacombe, infectious disease specialist and head of department at Saint-Antoine hospital, indicates that “ the coronavirus could become seasonal “. She mentioned in particular that current colds come from different coronaviruses that emerged in the Middle Ages. “ But it’s not for now »She reassures.
Coronavirus and other viruses: diseases never eradicated
Smallpox is the only disease eradicated since 1980 but it remains an exception. All the diseases that have appeared in history are still circulating today, whether bacterial, viral or parasitic:
- Malaria, better known as ” malaria », Appeared with the beginning of our species and is transmitted by infected mosquitoes. In 2018 alone, there were 228 million cases and 405,000 deaths worldwide.
- Recent viruses such as HIV (which caused AIDS), Ebola, influenza or the coronavirus (which notably caused SARS-CoV-2) are still very virulent.
- Other older diseases like tuberculosis, leprosy or measles have been around for a long time and despite all the vaccines, treatments and research, they cannot be eradicated.
Even when vaccines exist, certain diseases still claim victims, including the plague, which remains one of the deadliest diseases in history and which still rages around the world today. Categorized as re-emerging diseases, plague, malaria and tuberculosis are still very active and have many contaminations and deaths around the world. In conclusion, even with a vaccine, we are not completely protected against this virus that is SARS-Cov-2.
