“Covid will become endemic, pandemic far from over”

“The pandemic is far from over.” The coronavirus “will likely become endemic”. This was underlined by Peter Piot, Belgian microbiologist advisor to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, presenting today the main contents of the report signed by the panel of 26 experts that met to offer a basis science compared to the Global Health Summit, underway in Rome. “The increasing availability of safe and effective vaccines gives us the hope of putting the pandemic under control, with very low mortality. But the top priority is to ensure global vaccine equity, immediately,” continued Piot, who along with other scientists. renewed the appeal to “leaders to increase funding” to global platforms for access to vaccines and tools for the fight against Covid “Covax and Act-accelerator”. “No country is safe until everyone is safe” Hence the warning: “No country is safe until everyone is safe”. In their message, the experts stress the need to close the acute phase of the pandemic and also to focus on preparing for future threats that will have to be measured. They warn that without “equal and universal access” to vaccines and resources it will not be possible to exit the Covid tunnel. In the report they explain that, “as we prepare for the likelihood that Sars-CoV-2 will become endemic”, with possible “seasonal outbreaks due to decreased immunity, insufficient vaccination coverage globally or the emergence of new viral variants. “and” further probable epidemic waves, particularly in countries with low vaccination coverage “, we must also look to the future. Panel representatives speak of the importance of “investing in research before, during and after health crises”. And they add: “We ask leaders to strengthen the production capacities of all areas of the world, by funding a stable network of regional vaccine and biological drug production hubs”. In the report “we have traced – say the 26 scientists, coming from all over the world – a map for the future by identifying priority areas for immediate action: equal global access to medical supplies and tools needed to tackle Covid-19 and other health threats; research and innovation; involvement of research groups in middle and low-income countries; integrated disease surveillance and data sharing; listening to scientific indications; strengthening of personnel and health systems; regional production capacities; public trust “, which must be cultivated, also because it is severely tested” from the infodemic “, experts recall today, referring to that uncontrollable cascade of often unverified information and incorrect, which has characterized these months of health emergency. And finally, the list of areas on which action is needed ends with “well coordinated governance and sustainable health”.