Italian infectious diseases specialist says COVID-19 may die out on its own without vaccine

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – An infectious diseases specialist in Italy has said he believes the COVID-19 virus has weakened and may disappear by itself without a vaccine, Fox News reported Monday. Dr. Matteo Bassetti, head of the infectious diseases clinic at San Martino hospital in Genoa, said the virus weakening may be caused by genetic mutations resulting from lockdown and social distancing measures.

Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, Bassetti said: “In March and early April the [virus] patterns were completely different. People were coming to the emergency department with a very difficult to manage illness and they needed oxygen and ventilation, some developed pneumonia.”

Now, Bassetti said, “the picture has completely changed in terms of patterns.” Whereas the virus was like an “aggressive tiger” in March and April, in the last month it has become like a “wild cat,” he said. “Even elderly patients, aged 80 or 90, are now sitting up in bed and they are breathing without help. The same patients would have died in two or three days before,” Bassetti added.

Affirming that the cause of any mutation remains to be confirmed, Bassetti said: “I think the virus has mutated because our immune system reacts to the virus and we have a lower viral load now due to the lockdown, mask-wearing, social distancing.”

“We have fewer and fewer people infected and it could end up with the virus dying out,” Bassetti said.

Latest Worthy News