COVID-19 is possibly slated to become as "endemic" as the annual flu virus. Potential vaccines are in late-stage clinical trials, but none would reportedly eradicate the virus.

According to the United Kingdom's chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance, "We can't be certain, but I think it's unlikely we will end up with a truly sterilizing vaccine, (that is) something that completely stops infection, and it's likely this disease will circulate and be endemic, that's my best assessment," reported Live Asian News.

He further added, "Clearly as management becomes better, as you get vaccination which would decrease the chance of infection and the severity of disease... this then starts to look more like annual flu than anything else, and that may be the direction we end up going."

COVID-19 Likely to Become as 'Endemic' as the Flu

Vallance noted that there had merely been one illness eradicated due to an effective vaccine, and that was smallpox.

The chief adviser stated it is unlikely that a novel coronavirus vaccine would be the absolute solution to stop the prevalence of the infection. He added that the respiratory illness might well become an endemic much like influenza, reported

Vallance addressed a select committee on national security that the British government would need to oversee the coronavirus yearly, such as with flu, reported Independent.

Many potential vaccines are in late-stage clinical trials. However, Vallance stated none would possibly eradicate COVID-19. "The notion of eliminating Covid from anywhere is not right, because it will come back," reported World News Era.

Biotech companies and academic bodies have cooperated to develop a vaccine against COVID-19 swiftly, considering that it is ravaging worldwide. According to Johns Hopkins University, the grim milestone of 40 million confirmed coronavirus cases globally was reached with 1.1 million fatalities.

Columbia Mailman School researchers Jeffrey Shaman and Marta Galanti penned a new article in the journal "Science" that navigates the potency of COVID-19 to transition to becoming endemic.

They specified essential contributing factors such as the susceptibility for reinfection, effectiveness, vaccine availability, potential seasonality, and collision with other viral infections that may regulate the virus' transmission.

According to David Ricks, Eli Lilly & Co.'s chief executive officer, President Donald Trump's treatment underscored the important role of antiviral therapies in tackling an illness, but COVID-19 is far from being eliminated by new vaccines and likely to become "endemic." Ricks added it would challenge the public-health system for years.

Addressing a Commons National Security Strategy Committee in London, according to Vallance, the accessibility of an effectual trialed vaccine will occur hopefully following the begging of the spring in the United Kingdom.

He said it was necessary to provide the public a "realistic picture" of the vaccine's potency, considering that the average time of creating a vaccine from scratch is a decade. The process had never taken less than five years.

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