The founders of BioNTech, which developed the first coronavirus vaccine approved for use in the world, Dr. Özlem Türeci and Prof. Dr. Uğur Şahin made a new statement about the virus, which is still in effect. Answering the question of what will happen to COVID-19 and when it will end, Özlem Türeci from the duo stated that this is a difficult question and that they learn something new every day about how the virus reacts to the vaccine. He added that they needed this information to say when the epidemic will end.
Türeci said, “What we can say with certainty now is that a new normality is slowly settling in. “We can already feel it,” he said. He also stated that we are learning how to deal with the virus. However, Türeci explained that the virus will not disappear completely, similar to the statements made by many experts before:
The virus will turn into a flu virus:
“There will be a normalcy where we can act more freely as a large part of the population is immune. Of course, we will deal with the virus for a few more years. Over the years, the virus will gain flu virus status, in which certain groups of the population are vaccinated every year or two. The coronavirus will be a more manageable virus. ”
Variant vaccines being tested:
Answering the question of whether they are working on a new generation vaccine against other COVID-19 mutations, Prof. Dr. Uğur Şahin announced that they are currently testing variant vaccines in a relatively small group of volunteers. South Africa announced that a study on the beta variant is almost complete, with an ongoing study to collect data on the delta variant.
No need to change the current vaccine yet:
“There is currently no need to change the current vaccine. But we want to show that we can produce new variant vaccines and clinically test them to show that they are as safe as the vaccines we currently use. If a variant emerges in the next few years and the vaccine needs to be adapted, we will be able to do this very quickly because we have already established the necessary procedure. In this way, we will be able to prepare very calmly for the fact that the vaccine may need to be adapted to new virus mutations every two years. ”
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