Expert: Covid is here to stay

The Covid-19 pandemic is here to stay and its effects are expected to possibly worsen, according to government adviser Sotiris Tsiodras, an expert in infectious diseases.

At the moment there are five variants, but we may see more as the virus evolves, he said in online comments to a meeting of the European Parliament’s Special Committee on the pandemic in Brussels.

“There is a global need for a new generation of vaccines,” he noted, citing the recommendations for a second booster dose for the over-60s and vulnerable groups by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).