Chief medical officer Chris Whitty has warned that the ‘very social disruptive’ measures would have to stay in place for the rest of this year because the chances of a vaccine or treatment for the virus within the next 12 months are ‘incredibly small’.
Speaking at the Daily Downing Street press conference Whitty Whitty told the briefing:
‘In the long run, the exit from this is going to be one of two things ideally: a highly effective vaccine – and there are a variety of ways that vaccines can be deployed – or highly effective drugs so that people stop dying of this disease even if they catch it or which can prevent this disease in vulnerable people.’
He said that until the UK had either of those, ‘we are going to have to rely on other social measures which of course are very socially disruptive’.
