LONDON — The British government’s chief medical adviser has warned that social distancing measures in the U.K. may well have to stay in place for the rest of the year.
Professor Chris Whitty says at the government’s daily briefing that he’s confident a vaccine will have “proof of concept” well within a year. But he says the probability of having that, or a treatment, any time this calendar year is “incredibly small.”
As a result, he says “we’re going to have to rely on other social measures, which of course are very socially disruptive as everyone is finding at the moment.”
He says ministers will have to decide what mix of measures will have to remain in place once the U.K. goes through the peak of the coronavirus and beyond.
The stunt that Team Trump is now pulling guarantees that for the U.S.
We were always going to have to do social distancing for a year, but Trump has made it so more people will die, more will suffer economically and the restrictions will have to be harsher.
In other words, the worst possible outcome.
The good news is that we are learning everyday how to better manage those ill from the infection. This includes testing of antivirals, monoclonal antibodies directed against a variety of cytokines, convalescent serum, O2 Helmets, and ventilator management strategies. If we can lower the morbidity and mortality of the infection (I’m optimistic we can) then we save lives and we won’t need to have the curve as flat as we do now and we will avoid overwhelming our medical system.