© PASir Patrick Vallance, Government Chief Scientific Adviser, giving evidence to the Science and Technology Committee on the subject of UK Science, Research and Technology Capability and Influence in Global Disease Outbreaks - PA
A Zero Covid strategy is not possible, as the virus will never be eliminated, the Government's scientists have said.
Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, and Sir Patrick Vallance, chief scientific adviser, both ruled out such an approach, saying new variants and overseas travel mean the virus cannot be wiped out.
Sir Patrick told MPs: "Our focus needs to be on reducing the levels we have here. That is the key point, to keep things under control," he said.
"I would expect to see more variants emerge," he told the Commons science and technology committee. "I do not think we will stop new variants emerging.
"Just as the flu virus changes every year - so I would expect this virus to change over time.
"I do not think that zero Covid is possible. I think there's nothing to suggest that this virus will go away, at least any time soon.
"It's going to be there, circulating. It may be a winter virus that comes back over winters with increasing infection rates during that period."
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It would be very difficult for anywhere to keep cases out in the long-term "because at some point countries have to open up borders" he said.
Professor Whitty agreed, saying he would "absolutely want" to aim for low rates of Covid.
"The one thing I would very much caution against is people thinking that we can go to a zero Covid approach.
Prof Whitty said he would love Covid to "magically disappear" but warned this could not happen with a virus which is highly transmissible and spread asymptomatically.
He said: "The idea of zero deaths is unlikely to the point of not really worth considering as a policy option. There are going to be deaths from this."
"The question about how much society is prepared to take to reduce that risk, is actually a societal question and there for a decision for ministers and Parliament."
The chief medical officer suggested that a Government could opt to embark on extreme measures, if they thought the benefits were worth it.
He said: "Just take the example of flu. This year we have had almost no deaths from flu because flu has got a lower rate of transmission than Covid; so if you get Covid right down, flu goes away.
"Now would we want to go forward in a situation where we say we know how to deal with flu we're going have every winter like this winter, and then we'll get no flu?" he said, saying such a choice was one for Government.
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