A prominent US scientist has warned that the world may have accustom itself to "old-fashioned" methods of protection from disease: frequent hand washing, cleaning surfaces, and keeping a distance from one another.
Speaking to The Guardian, William Haseltine said that he "wouldn't count on" an effective vaccine being developed - ever - noting that previous attempts to create vaccines for similar diseases such as Sars and Mers had failed quite dramatically.
"Do not listen to the politicians who say we're going to have [a vaccine] by the time my re-election comes around," he said. "Maybe we will, but ... every time people have tried to make a vaccine - for Sars or Mers - it hasn't actually protected," because they failed to protect the mucous membranes in the nose, the virus' main port of entrance into the body.