New research by Kiwi scientists suggests wiping COVID-19 out is a possibility – saying if we beat polio, we can beat this virus too.
And we might not even have to wait until most of the world is vaccinated either, according to their paper published in BMJ Global Health on Tuesday.
“Elimination of COVID-19 at the country level has been achieved and sustained for long periods in various parts of the Asia Pacific region, which suggests that global eradication is possible,” said lead author Nick Wilson, a public health professor from the University of Otago.
Elimination and eradication are different. Elimination is when a virus no longer spreads in a community, but there can be outbreaks brought in from outside – measles is an example here in New Zealand. Eradication is when the virus is basically extinct in the wild.
Dr Wilson and his team looked at various factors, “including the availability of safe and effective vaccines, the possibility of lifelong immunity, the impact of public health measures, effective infection control messaging by governments, political and public concern about the infection and public acceptance of infection control measures” and ranked COVID-19 against two previously eradicated viruses – smallpox and polio.
