As reports circle that California will shift to an "endemic" approach to coronavirus, a Stanford health professor is calling for the United States to think bigger.
Dr. Robert Siegel, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Stanford University, told KCBS Radio's "Ask An Expert" he believes it is still possible to eradicate COVID-19 from the globe.
"I believe we have the technology to eliminate this virus from the human population," Siegel said. "I would like to shift the thinking not to 'when are we going to get to an endemic,' but 'when are we going to get the motivation to eliminate the virus completely?'"
Similar viruses, such as the flu, have proven impossible to eradicate, but Siegel said COVID-19 has an important difference.
"We don't have a really effective vaccine for flu the way we have a whole group of really effective vaccines for coronavirus," he said.
Not only are there successful vaccinations, such as Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, but there are also multiple drugs and diagnostic tools in development that will aid in the fight against COVID-19, Siegel explained.
"We have a few drugs now, but there are more drugs on the way and the diagnostic tools are fantastic and widespread," he said.
The only part missing in the equation to eliminate coronavirus is the drive. "The tools are in place, the motivation is not there."
Related
