Caithness-born professor predicts end to Covid chaos within a year
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A leading cancer specialist who helped devise anti-viral drugs for HIV and Aids says that Covid-19 could be under control "within the coming year".
Professor David Farquhar, who is originally from Caithness and is now based in Texas, USA, makes the prediction in a letter to the John O'Groat Journal today.
He acknowledges the concern caused by the emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and its threat to "severely tax healthcare services".
However, he cites two new oral drugs which have demonstarted high efficacy in patient trails for controlling the severity of Covid, with others being developed.
Prof Farquhar, who was born in Mey and attended Crossroads Primary, Miller Academy and Thurso High School, published more than 120 research articles in leading scientific and medical journals during his career. He was awarded 13 US and international patents, including two for the development of antiviral drugs that are currently used worldwide for the treatment of patients with Aids and hepatitis B.
The retired Professor of Cancer Medicine at the University of Texas, who was given a prestigious lifetime professorship in 2004, urged people to get the booster vaccine as soon as possible.
However, he added: "It’s not all bad news. Two new oral drugs have demonstrated high efficacy in patient trials at controlling the severity of Covid-19 illness. Others are in the pipeline. These drugs are active against all known viral variants. The significance of this cannot be overstated.
"For example, 40 years of intensive research effort to develop a vaccine for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has met with failure.
"Today, HIV infection and its symptomatic counterpart, Aids, can be controlled exclusively by antiviral drugs. The same should be possible for Covid-19 and related viral illnesses."
While accepting that predictions are not easy to make, he suggested that looking at past pandemic experiences and taking into account rapid advances in medical technology, Covid-19 could soon become a less intrusive part of our daily lives.
"Most likely Covid-19 will evolve into a manageable recurrent illness similar to the seasonal flu," he said.
"Predictions are best suited to the gambling hall but experience with past viral pandemics taken in concert with rapid advances in medical technology suggest a return to a more normal life experience within the coming year."
