The UK government hopes that by the end of 2021, COVID-19 will become a relatively easy-to-treat and flu-common illness. British Health Minister Matt Hancock said this in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.
“We hope that COVID-19 will become a treatable disease by the end of the year,” Hancock said. According to the head of the Ministry of Health, this will be facilitated by the improvement of treatment protocols, the emergence of new effective drugs, and mass vaccination. As a result, Hancock noted, “COVID-19 from the pandemic that affects the lives of each of us will become just another disease that we have to live with, as is the case with the flu.”
The British authorities expect to complete the first stage of the vaccination program by the end of the week, the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine will receive about 15 million people for whom this infection poses the greatest danger. We are talking about citizens over 70 years old, medical and social workers in direct contact with patients with COVID-19, nursing home employees, and people with poor health. The UK Ministry of Health expects that all adults in the country will be able to get vaccinated by the end of summer. It is also expected that a vaccine for children who will be shown vaccination will appear before the end of the year.
The UK government has not yet published the details of the program for the phased lifting of restrictive measures; from January 8, the third quarantine is in effect throughout the kingdom. Official statements on this topic are expected during the last week of February.
According to media reports, a significant part of the restrictions may be removed by early April. Schools are scheduled to open from March 8, by the end of this month, stores that do not sell essential goods may be given permission to start working, and before Easter, celebrated in the country on April 4, the authorities may reopen restaurants, pubs, and hotels. Each of these decisions will depend on the epidemic situation in the UK, the number of hospitalizations and deaths, and the rate of spread of the coronavirus.
