In an interview with the Times of Israel, Professor Yehuda Carmeli, head of Israel’s National Institute for Antibiotic Resistance and Infection Control, expressed his view that we are "just at the beginning" of what will likely be a multi-year battle against the coronavirus, a battle that no vaccine or treatment is likely to win for us.
"All models say that ... at least 80 percent of the population will be infected," Carmeli said. He predicted around 650 people ultimately dying in the under-50 age group, but around 5,000 deaths in the 70-plus group, even if an effective vaccine is found, "because vaccines are usually much less efficacious in the older population and in immunocompromised patients ... those who most need the protection."
In conclusion, he said, "We probably will not be able to make a huge impact on the number of people who will die."