KYW Newsradio's Medical Reports are sponsored by Independence Blue Cross.
By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Scientists are suggesting that COVID-19 might become a seasonal problem. But this raises new challenges for scientists.
It's one of our worst fears but it is also a good possibility: COVID-19 may become part of our world every season and, like flu viruses, may always have the potential to cause severe illness in some people.
In other words, once we have vaccines, there will still be a need to study the immune response to the virus in relation to drug and antibody treatments as well as vaccines.
We will need to study people's immune systems' response to the coronavirus — information that could explain why some become more severely sick from COVID-19.
The vaccines likely to be approved in the coming months are not expected to provide lifetime protection. It appears we are in this battle for the long haul.
But the good news is that our greatest minds are buckling up for the fight.
