"Ending COVID-19 Is Impossible... Vaccination and Management Must Continue Like the Flu"

Experts and Citizens, Consensus on Daily Life Recovery

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] As authorities announced plans to promote ‘With Corona (gradual recovery of daily life)’ around the 9th of next month, most quarantine experts and the public appear to agree with this.

Professor Yoon Tae-ho of Busan National University College of Medicine (former head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters’ quarantine team) stated, "Considering the fatality rate of COVID-19, excessive resource allocation has been made, and the fatigue level of personnel is quite high, making sustainable response very difficult. When the fatality rate drops to the level of the flu, it is necessary to shift to management through routine quarantine and medical response."

Professor Yoon proposed, "I suggest attempting a phased recovery of daily life by considering vaccination completion rates, the number of severe patients, and monthly fatality rates," adding, "Medical response is key, especially the need to expand home treatment-centered care." Professor Eom Jung-sik of Gachon University College of Medicine’s Department of Infectious Diseases pointed out, "There is no safe With Corona," and emphasized, "With Corona is a process of deciding which damages to accept."

In the recently published ‘2021 COVID-19 Public Perception Survey’ by the National Medical Center, 89.6% of respondents answered, "It is impossible to end COVID-19, and it must be managed continuously with vaccines like the flu." As part of the transition to With Corona, 73.3% responded that COVID-19 can be "rested or treated like the flu," and 62.6% agreed that quarantine and treatment should focus on high-risk groups. Among those who had experienced COVID-19 infection, these response rates were even higher at 89.4% and 82.4%, respectively.

However, the proportion of those who believe that proactive quarantine measures such as strengthening social distancing are necessary remained high at 87.6%. The Medical Center explained, "It clearly emphasized the need for sufficient prior measures and preparations based on scientific evidence rather than a simple and radical transition."

As criteria for recovery of daily life and ‘normalization’ from COVID-19, various items were suggested, including removing masks (30.6%), free gatherings (13.7%), free travel (12.6%), and in-person classes and normal commuting (9.6%). However, 27.8% of respondents believed that unless daily life is restored in all areas from removing masks to cultural activities, it cannot be considered normalization.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.