| Comment | A 'flavour' is not an accurate representation of a viruses pathology. Polio, for example, can remain asymptomatic and dormant for decades before killing someone. We know that CV19 affects neurological tissue - what if everyone who contracts it in mild form now develops Guillain–Barré syndrome in 10 years time? What if like the 1918 flu epidemic it unleashes a massive Parkinsons time bomb? We. Simply. Don't. Know.
So in the absence of knowledge, we suppress the disease's transmission. This has been the aim all along, and is the simple aim of almost every country in the world.
We have 3 tools to do this: 1) restricting behaviour (lockdown), 2) testing and tracing, 3) vaccination
Initially we only had 1. Over 2020 we developed 2. In 2021 we now have 3.
Once 3 is sufficiently developed then we don't need 1 any more. We are almost there, estimates are that we need somewhere between 70-80% of the population fully vaccinated to achieve this. We have of course been able to reduce the extent of 1 as 2 and 3 have increased, but can only do so in response to transmission rates.
It would seem rather illogical to give up on suppressing transmission of the disease now when the pathway to zero restrictions *and* suppressed transmission is mostly achieved. We're nearly there, notably well ahead of almost every other country in the world. |
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