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Reuters
The coronavirus will be present “forever in one form or another,” said a member of the Government’s Science Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).
Sir Mark Walport said people should be vaccinated at regular intervals.
His comments come after the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said he hoped the pandemic would be over within two years, because the Spanish flu had taken two years to overcome.
Sir Mark said denser populations and travel meant the virus was spreading easily.
He also said that the world population is now much larger than in 1918.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today program, Sir Mark said that in order to control the pandemic, “global vaccination” would be needed, but the coronavirus would not be a disease like smallpox “which could be eradicated by vaccination”.
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“It’s a virus that will stay with us forever in one form or another, and will almost certainly require repeat vaccinations,” he said.
“So, much like the flu, people will need revaccination at regular intervals.”
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the WHO, said that the Spanish flu of 1918 took two years to overcome and that technological advances could allow the world to stop the coronavirus “in a shorter time”.
The 1918 flu killed at least 50 million people.
So far, the coronavirus has killed nearly 800,000 people and infected nearly 23 million.
Sir Mark warned that it was “possible” for the coronavirus to get “out of control” again, but said more targeted measures could now be used instead of a generic lockdown.
Coronavirus cases have increased in European countries in recent weeks. Some countries, which appeared to have succeeded in suppressing the initial outbreaks, are now seeing infections on the rise again.
As of August 22, the UK has recorded 21.5 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in the past fifteen weeks, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
Sir Mark said: “We know that less than one in five people in the country have been infected, so 80% of the population is still susceptible to this virus.
“It’s that terrible balance between trying to minimize the damage done to people by infection and protecting people, while maintaining society”.
He expressed concern about the increase in the number of cases in Europe and other parts of the world.
Meanwhile, tourists returning to the UK spent thousands of pounds organize new flights in a race to get home before new travel rules come into effect.
From 04:00 BST on Saturday, travelers returning from Croatia, Austria and Trinidad and Tobago are to be quarantined for 14 days.
There were similar scenes last weekend when new rules went into effect for those returning from countries like France and the Netherlands.
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