Social distancing might need to continue until 2022

A study by epidemiologists from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health said that social distancing may still be necessary for the next several years to control the spread of COVID-19. They also say that this is due to the absence of a vaccine or effective treatment.

There are treatments, like hydroxychloroquine and remdesivir, that are already being evaluated in clinical trials, and several companies are busy at work trying to develop vaccines and treatments for COVID-19. However, an effective vaccine could take 18 months or more to be developed.

The researchers say it is critical to figure out if SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can be wiped out after this initial pandemic like the SARS outbreak of 2003. Otherwise, it is likely that SARS-CoV-2 will re-emerge every winter.

“To avoid this, prolonged or intermittent social distancing may be necessary into 2022. Additional interventions, including expanded critical care capacity and an effective therapeutic, would improve the success of intermittent distancing and hasten the acquisition of herd immunity,” wrote the researchers.

Countries like Japan and China have already seen a second wave of cases after relaxing social distancing guidelines. Malaysia has also extended the MCO for another two weeks to keep the virus contained, but only time will tell if we’d need to extend it even further.

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