Covid could be more like common cold by next spring, says Oxford professor

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Covid-19 could well become like common cold by spring next year because people would have developed immunity boosted by vaccines and exposure to the virus, an expert from Oxford University has said.

Speaking in context to Britain, Professor Sir John Bell of medicine at Oxford University said the country (England) “is over the worst” and things “should be fine” once the winter has passed. He added there has been exposure to the virus even in people who were fully jabbed.

In a recent Royal Society of Medicine webinar, Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert said viruses tend to become weaker as they spread around.

“We normally see that viruses become less virulent as they circulate more easily and there is no reason to think we will have a more virulent version of Sars-CoV-2,” she was quoted as saying and added “Eventually Sars-CoV-2 will become one of those.”

Sir John said Covid-19 vaccines worked to prevent serious illness and death but “don’t really effectively reduce the amount of transmission”.

“If everybody’s expecting the vaccines and the boosters to stop that, they won’t. And it’s slightly a false promise,” he added.