The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust is a nonprofit foundation that seeks to enrich the quality of life in the Pacific Northwest. In addition to funding grants for projects in the arts, education, health, and human services, the Murdock Trust regularly funds scientific research, such as work at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Oregon Health & Sciences University.
Recently, the Murdock Trust supported a conversation between professor and virologist Dr. Larry Corey, past president director at Fred Hutchinson, and Dr. Donna Hansel, professor and chair of pathology and laboratory medicine at OHSU. In partnership with The Seattle Times, they shared insights on COVID-19, vaccines, and the future of this pandemic.
Though the vaccine has been shown to provide 20 times more protection than the natural infection, only about 57% of the U.S. population is vaccinated. Until vaccinations become more widely accepted, it may be difficult to protect the most vulnerable in our society.
The doctors also shared predictions about the future of the pandemic. Hansel shared that the virus will be monitored for new variants, because there is always the potential for another round with viral pathogens. Even the common cold is another coronavirus. However, Hansel thinks we can learn to live with this virus with the use of at-home rapid antigen testing kits that provides a quicker diagnosis than PCR tests.
While schools will likely stay open and people will return to in-person clinical care in the next six to 12 months, a return to in-person restaurants, theaters and other public indoor spaces may take longer. Corey is hopeful that the vaccine will allow children to resume the activities crucial to their development, reintroducing a sense of normalcy to families. Overall, both doctors remain cautiously optimistic about the future of the pandemic.
