The elderly may have to remain in isolation until next year to protect themselves from coronavirus, the EU Commission president has told a German newspaper.
Ursula von der Leyen told Bild “we have to limit as much as possible contact with the elderly” until a vaccine against Covid-19 was developed.
Most experts say a vaccine that provides immunity to coronavirus will not be ready for mass production for at least a year.
Von der Leyen said she recognised the difficultly of isolation, but stressed when “it is a question of life or death, we have to remain disciplined and patient”.
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“Children and young people will enjoy more freedom of movement earlier than elderly people and those with pre-existing medical conditions,” she told Bild.
She said she hoped that a European laboratory would develop a vaccine towards the end of the year.
The EU has been criticised for its approach to tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
Last week, the president of the EU’s scientific research council resigned after three months in the job with an attack on the EU’s scientific governance and political operations.
BBC
