British Scientists Fear a Forever COVID War, Germany Opts for Booster Shots
Voice of America
The British government's scientific advisers have raised the prospect of fighting a forever war against the coronavirus saying the eradication of the virus "will be unlikely." And they warn "there will always be variants."
They hold out the hope that the virus may evolve in such a way that it causes "much less severe disease," but they caution that is unlikely to happen for some time. Preventive measures and restrictions will be needed in the meantime as there's a "realistic possibility" that vaccine-resistant variants will emerge. And, chillingly, in a report released last week by Britain's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, otherwise known as SAGE, the scientists do not discount the chance of a new variant arising with the deadliness of MERS, another coronavirus which has a case fatality rate of 35%. Report quietly released
Bottles Champagne are for sale at a wine dealer shop in Ville d'Avray, outside Paris, France, as President Donald Trump threatened a 200% tariff on European wine, Champagne and spirits if the European Union goes forward with a planned tariff on American whiskey, March 13, 2025.
Steve Witkoff, White House special envoy, center, speaks with reporters at the White House in Washington, March 6, 2025. The White House said Witkoff will head to Moscow to discuss a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Iranian athlete Elnaz Rekabi competes during the women's Boulder & Lead final during the IFSC Climbing Asian Championships in Seoul, South Korea, Oct. 16, 2022. (Rhea Khang/International Federation of Sport Climbing via AP)
This handout photo from Taiwan Presidential office taken and released March 13, 2025, shows Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaking in Taipei.
A woman places a candle at the statue of late Pope John Paul II at the Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis is being treated for pneumonia, in Rome, March 12, 2025.
FILE - Sebastien Lai, son of pro-democracy Hong Kong activist Jimmy Lai, poses for a portrait in central London on Nov. 26, 2024. FILE - Jimmy Lai is escorted by Correctional Services officers to get on a prison van before appearing in a court in Hong Kong, Dec. 12, 2020.
FILE - Journalist Blessed Mhlanga speaks in Harare, Zimbabwe, in October 2022. (Columbus Mavhunga/VOA)
Specialists work on the facade of a damaged apartment building following a drone attack in Moscow, March 11, 2025.
Local officials and navy personnel attend a joint Iranian, Russian and Chinese military drill in the Gulf of Oman, Iran, on March 12, 2025. (Iranian Army Office via AFP) Chinese navy troops attending a joint naval drill with Iran and Russia stand on the deck of their warship in an official arrival ceremony at Shahid Beheshti port in Chabahar in the Gulf of Oman, Iran, on March 11, 2025.
FILE - A man injured in an explosion at an M23 rally is evacuated from the scene in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Feb. 27, 2025. The Angolan government said on March 12, 2025, that the M23 rebels and the DRC government will enter direct peace talks.
FILE - A demonstrator holds a picture of jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan during a rally in Diyarbakir, Turkey, Feb. 27, 2025.
In this image taken from video on March 12, 2025, observers and security officers look over the aftermath of a car bomb explosion the previous day at a hotel in the central Somali city of Beledweyne. Beledweyne, Somalia