The world is facing a ‘bumpy and difficult’ transition from COVID, scientists warn. One of Britain’s most senior academics predicts that tensions in societies around the world over the current situation with the coronavirus pandemic will be very difficult to manage.
Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, who stepped down as scientific adviser to the British government last November, warned that the idea of ”getting out” of the pandemic just like that was unrealistic. “I just don’t think you wake up on a Tuesday and you’re all set. This will not happen,” the scientist said at an online meeting of the Royal Society of Medicine. – The transition from the acute phase of the pandemic to something new, not yet defined, it is really difficult – a bumpy road, different around the world, different within one country, given the degree of injustice that has occurred at the global level, but also at the national level “.
According to The Guardian, Farrar noted that one of the problems is that while some people may argue that the pandemic is in the past, and the situation at the height of the pandemic has been exaggerated, others believe that it is far from over.
“And therefore, I think it will be very difficult to deal with tension in society,” the scientist predicts.
Jeremy Farrar added that while he sympathizes with the disruption in education and the health and economic impact of COVID, he is concerned about the speed at which some want to move on.
“What worries me is that there will be a jump too fast to say it’s over and we’ll lose our humility in admitting we’re only two years into a new human pathogen, it’s still a huge uncertainty,” he said, adding, that it is now also critical to address vaccine disparities.
While Farrar said the most likely scenario is that the switch to Omicron would make the disease endemic because that variant of the coronavirus is less virulent than others, that’s not the only possibility.
“It worries me that we are ignoring other scenarios that are less rosy, but we have to be absolutely ready,” he said.
Farrar added that while he agrees it’s time to start easing COVID restrictions in the UK, he favors keeping some of the measures in place.
“I would support the continuation of, for example, wearing masks on public transport, indoors, etc.,” he said. “And I will put even more effort into trying to encourage people to get vaccinated, get booster doses, and make sure everyone has access to vaccines.”
Farrar also warned that he is deeply concerned about the global COVID situation, saying the pandemic has been exacerbated by a “catastrophic failure of global diplomacy.”
“The ongoing East/West, but increasingly understandably North/South geopolitical conflict over vaccine disparities will lead to really troubling years ahead and will have implications, beyond pandemics, for our ability to come together to address inequalities, problems climate change, drug resistance problems, migration problems and conflicts,” the scientist stated.