London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

Covid: We could live with virus 'like we do flu' by end of year, says Hancock

Covid: We could live with virus 'like we do flu' by end of year, says Hancock

Vaccines and treatments could mean that - by the end of the year - Covid-19 is an illness we can live with "like we do flu", Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said.

He told the Daily Telegraph he hoped new drugs coming by the end of 2021 could make Covid a "treatable disease".

The drugs - and vaccines - represent "our way out to freedom", he said.

Mr Hancock said he hoped all UK adults could be offered the vaccine "a bit before" September.

He said new treatments were needed for a "small number" who may not be protected by vaccines - a first dose of which has already been given to 14 million people.

Antibody treatments are being trialled as an alternative to vaccines for people with impaired immune systems.

Mr Hancock said new treatments would play an important role in "turning Covid from a pandemic that affects all of our lives into another illness that we have to live with, like we do flu. That's where we need to get Covid to over the months to come".

Living with Covid safely would also depend on the vaccines:

*  reducing the numbers admitted to hospital

*  reducing deaths

*  cutting transmission of the virus

Mr Hancock's comments suggest he is ruling out a "zero Covid" strategy, aimed at eliminating the virus entirely from the UK.

Conservative MP David Davis told BBC Radio 4 Today: "There will come a point where there will be a death rate from Covid but it's at a normal level and then we have to cope with it.

"Obviously we try to prevent it, but we accept it, I think, we have to."


This is simply about being realistic. Covid isn't something that can be eradicated like smallpox.

Temporary suppression, which is essentially what countries like New Zealand have done, is about protecting people in the short-term. Unless they keep their borders shut forever, it cannot work long-term.

Vaccines mean immunity builds up and at the very least should stop most people falling seriously ill.

There will be an ongoing challenge of keeping up with a virus that will mutate - although this is likely to be less difficult than it seems as coronaviruses tend to be much more stable than flu, for which different strains circulate every year.

There will always be people who are susceptible, either the vaccine doesn't work or they have refused to have it. That is why the continued advances in treatments are essential.

But we should never again see the levels of deaths we have.

Thousands will still die in winters to come. But each year this should lessen until it gets near to the levels of mortality we see with flu - something which society readily accepts.

However, scientists have urged caution.

Professor Steven Riley, a member of the Spi-M modelling group, said the rollout of vaccination did not mean coronavirus controls could be dropped, adding that Britain could face a wave as big as the current one if lockdown restrictions were all lifted.

"No vaccine is perfect. We are certainly going to be in the situation where we can allow more infection in the community but there is a limit," he told the BBC.

"In the short term, if we were to allow a very large wave of infection, that wave will find all the people who couldn't have the vaccine for very good reason (and) those people who had the vaccine but unfortunately it didn't give them the protection they need."



Dr Sarah Pitt, a virologist at the University of Brighton, disagreed with Mr Hancock's suggestion that we could live with coronavirus like we do the flu.

She told the BBC: "It's not a type of flu. It's not the same sort of virus. It doesn't cause the same sort of disease, it's very, very nasty."

"The mutations, the variations, that we're seeing are becoming more infectious, not less infectious and a bit more dangerous, not less dangerous."

Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of the Lancet medical journal, told the BBC politicians would have to decide what level of deaths was acceptable if "zero Covid" was not possible - adding that, in some years, 30,000 people died from flu.

He said the UK was likely to see another spike in Covid-19 cases next winter and suggested it would take two, three or four years to build up sufficient levels of immunity in the population.

"Even if we do have high levels of population immunity, our borders are not going to be secure - and we can't keep locking people up in hotels for the next five years," Dr Horton said.

Meanwhile, the efficacy of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in children will be tested in a clinical trial, starting this month.

Some 300 volunteers between the ages of six and 17 will be involved in the study to assess whether the jab produces a strong immune response in children.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
UK Home Secretary Apologizes Over Child Grooming Failures
Trump Organization Launches 5G Mobile Network and Golden Handset
Towcester Hosts 2025 English Greyhound Derby Amid Industry Scrutiny
Gary Oldman and David Beckham Knighted in King's Birthday Honours
Over 30,000 Lightning Strikes Recorded Across UK During Overnight Storms
Princess of Wales Returns to Public Duties at Trooping the Colour
Red Arrows Use Sustainable Fuel in Historic Trooping the Colour Flypast
Former Welsh First Minister Addresses Unionist Concerns Over Irish Language
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
France Bars Israeli Arms Companies from Paris Defense Expo
King Charles Leads Tribute to Air India Crash Victims at Trooping the Colour
Jack Pitchford Embarks on 200-Mile Walk to Support Stem Cell Charity
Surrey Hikers Take on Challenge of Climbing 11 Peaks in a Single Day
UK Deploys RAF Jets to Middle East Amid Israel-Iran Tensions
Two Skydivers Die in 'Tragic Accident' at Devon Airfield
Sainsbury's and Morrisons Accused of Displaying Prohibited Tobacco Ads
UK Launches National Inquiry into Grooming Gangs
Families Seek Closure After Air India Crash
Gold Emerges as Global Safe Haven Amid Uncertainty
Trump Reports $57 Million Earnings from Crypto Venture
Trump's Military Parade Sparks Concerns Over Authoritarianism
Nationwide 'No Kings' Protests Challenge Trump's Leadership
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Trump's Anti-War Stance Tested Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
Germany Holds First Veterans Celebration Since WWII
U.S. Health Secretary Dismisses CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
×