“Over time, covid-19 will turn into a cold”: the phrase of a British researcher | Sarah Gilbert, the pioneering scientist in the development of the AstraZeneca vaccine

“Seasonal coronaviruses cause colds, and over time Sars-CoV-2 will become one of them“The statement that puts the path to the new normal in perspective like never before This was said by Sarah Gilbert, the scientist who pioneered the development of the AstraZeneca vaccine. as a researcher at the University of Oxford.

Gilbert’s certainty, shared by another professor at the prestigious British university, is heard when the UK still records more than 30,000 new cases per day. Professors have dated next spring in the northern hemisphere, early 2022, the passage of the pandemic virus in seasonal cold.

The words of the pioneering Covid-19 vaccine researcher and John Bell, professor of medicine at the University of Oxford, sought to allay fears of the emergence of a more deadly mutation in the virus, like this happened months ago in the United States. Kingdom with the Delta variant.

Over 30,000 cases per day

In the past 24 hours, 36,710 new cases of coronavirus and 182 additional deaths have been recorded in the UK, bringing the total to 135,621 since the start of the pandemic. Bell, in dialogue with Radio schedules, has put the spring of next year as the horizon in which the coronavirus will turn into a cold, confident that the virus’s immunity is boosted by vaccines and that exposure of a large part of the population continues.

“It is very important not to panic,” the professor asked over the further increase in cases in the country, noting that serious infections and deaths from the virus remain “very low”.

In the UK in late July, coronavirus cases fell unexpectedly after restrictions were ended, but infections and deaths rose again in early September, reaching highs of 200 deaths per day and 37,000 new cases.

At this point, Bell acknowledged that vaccines have worked to prevent serious illness and death, but “they don’t really effectively reduce the amount of transmission.”

Back to school and a slight increase in cases

The further increase in Covid-19 cases coincided with the resumption of classes after the summer break. Infections have increased in schools after school returns, where in England alone, more than one in 100 school-aged children has coronavirus.

About 1.2% of school-aged children in England were absent due to the coronavirus as of September 16, according to new figures from the UK Department of Education.

This compares to 1% in July before schools close for summer vacation. School in England had to reintroduce chinstrap after increase in coronavirus cases

Giselle Lynch, principal of Saint’s high school. Helens, northern England. told Sky News television that positive cases had risen from one to 50 when the school reopened on September 2.