The WHO has recommended dropping a component of many flu vaccines because the viruses it protects against appear to have been driven into extinction in the Covid pandemic.
And it didn’t just go extinct by luck. It’s a good case study of how to control and/or eliminate a virus (e.g. COVID):
“The rapid and global implementation of social distancing measures, masking, and the profound early reduction in international travel resulted in a substantial reduction in flu transmission.”
Shame that it worked for the flu and not for covid. In a way to me tho Covid just replaced variants of the flu.
Better than nothing though.
If we can get the world to agree to do 2 years of social distancing and masking in public places every 10 years maybe we can get rid of a lot more.
Probably would have gotten rid of a lot more if certain people weren’t adamantly against masks for that 2 year period.
I was all in for social distancing and so on for the time when covid was new and we didn’t have vaccines etc., but it also did a lot of damage to young people, me somewhat included. That idea has a good intention, but it will do more damage in other sectors than it does good in that sector.
Much as I agree that more could and should have been done, I don’t think there is any way to contain this particular coronavirus (unlike the original SARS, which did go extinct from similar measures). SARS-CoV-2 transmits readily between people and animals. It would be impossible to avoid transmitting it to pets and farm animals, and from there impossible to avoid transmitting it to wild animals, and back again.
We absolutely can slow it down to avoid healthcare systems collapsing under the strain but I don’t think it is possible to eliminate it and there probably never was a time when that was realistic, given how infectious it is and how many people are infectious but asymptomatic for at least a day or two if not longer.
The only reasonable way to mitigate the risk in the long-term is proper ventilation/filtration in all enclosed public spaces, schools and workplaces. Plus ongoing six-monthly vaccinations at least until a vaccine which provides durable immunity is developed.
