A leading immunologist has advised the UK government to “move on” with reopening society, warning that coronavirus is “here to stay” and that it makes no sense trying to hide every time a new variant emerges.
The BBC reports the comments by Sir John Bell, a Chair of Medicine at the University of Oxford, member of the Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research (OSCHR), and a leading member of the government’s vaccine taskforce.
In an interview with BBC Radio Four, Bell urged that “If we scamper down a rabbit hole every time we see a new variant, we’re going to spend a long time huddled away.”
Bell further asserted that the virus “is here to stay probably forever”, adding that there is a “need to get a bit of balance in the discussion.”
Bell said the government needs to focus on reducing “hospitalisations, serious disease and deaths” rather than the fruitless task of reducing cases through lockdowns and other restrictions.
The immunologist urged that the focus needs to be on the suppression of the virus “around the world because otherwise we’re just going to sit here and get slammed by repeated variants that come in the door.”
