Battle with COVID may be a long one even with vaccines

The Wuhan virus has now infected more than 100 million people worldwide with over 2 million deaths. The arrival of vaccines did give the world some hope but the struggle to contain the spread continues. A number of European countries are now making medical-grade masks mandatory in order to confront new more transmissible variants of the virus.

The French government wants citizens to wear surgical masks. Germany has made surgical or N95 mask mandatory in stores and on public transit. Austria has come up with a similar mandate. The UK has become the first country in Europe to record more than 100 thousand deaths. The UK has the fifth highest toll globally. And despite being one of the first countries to approve a vaccine, the fight against the virus is getting tougher. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has now promised to tighten the border restrictions.

"I mourn every death in this pandemic and we share the grief of all those who have been bereaved, Mr Speaker. And let the house be in no doubt that our government take full responsibility for all the actions I have taken, we have taken, during this pandemic to fight this disease," said Johnson in the House of Commons.

In the Netherlands, the lockdown was met with a violent response this week. For three straight nights protesters clashed with riot police personnel in a brazen attempt to defy curfew orders. More than 180 people were arrested across 10 cities. In America President Joe Biden has made a vow to purchase another 200 million doses of the vaccines.

But even with that, President Biden can't promise a swift end to the pandemic in America.

The vaccines ignited hope for a swift end to this pandemic. But the rollout delays have slowed things down. With the most developed regions of the world struggling to keep pace with a mutating virus. It seems like the battle against the pandemic will be a long drawn one.