Coronavirus will stay with us for the next 10 years, says vaccine creator

The creator of the world’s first approved coronavirus vaccine has warned that he believes the deadly coronavirus may survive for several years to come.

Lead scientist behind Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, Ugur Sahin, said that “The virus will stay with us for the next 10 years,”.

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“We need to get used to the fact there’ll be more outbreaks," he added.

Asked when he believed the world might be able to return to normal, Sahin responded: “We need a new definition of ‘normal’.”

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Sahin continued that a “new normal” would not mean countries having to go into lockdown and that scenario could be possible “by the end of the summer”.

Ugur Sahin, chief executive of Germany's BioNTech, partnered with US drug company Pfizer and took less than a year to get a vaccine approved.

Sahin also urged caution on whether 60-70% of the world’s population being vaccinated would be enough to prevent further outbreaks.

(With inputs from agencies)