Vaccine 'only strategy' to end pandemic: expert

How to end the pandemic is the hottest topic among exerts at the 2nd Symposium on Global Health.

The event — organized by the National Natural Science Foundation in China, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Huashan Hospital — invites leading experts to hold online and offline discussions on coronavirus prevention and control, global cooperation under the pandemic, and public health and medical research cooperation.

Medical experts say a vaccine is an important measure to help end the pandemic globally, and many believe such a vaccine will become available in 2021.

Dr Zhang Wenhong, head of Shanghai’s expert team for the treatment of coronavirus patients and director of infectious disease of Huashan Hospital, said it's difficult to forecast when the pandemic will end but scientific research and development are needed to control the virus.

“Without vaccine, we can’t reopen the world. A vaccine is the only strategy,” he said on the symposium.

Zhang said epidemic control has become normalized in China, though life is still not back to normal. Prevention and control of imported cases is the current focus in China. Personal steps like wearing masks, hand washing and keeping social distance are effective measures to lower health risk.