The number of new corona infections in Austria is increasing, despite a lower number of tests. “It’s going to be a wave, it’s going to get high again,” says geneticist Ulrich Elling. He still saw the hope of slowing down the infection process – deliberately infecting oneself to gain immune protection – as an absurd strategy.
“Both society and politics are clinging to the misconception that the corona pandemic is a seasonal disease,” said the expert from the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Academy of Sciences in the APA interview. But the season is just one factor that the Omikron BA .5 variant, for example, should more than make up for.
Risk of hospitalization increases with each infection
The geneticist called it absurd to want to build up ‘natural’ immune protection in the form of a deliberate infection with the virus. He referred to data from a not yet publicly comprehensive survey of American veterans. These would indicate that the chance of hospitalization with multiple infections is higher with the second infection with Corona than with the first infection.
“There’s no point in challenging it,” says Elling. On the contrary, the goal should be to keep the number of infections in each wave as low as possible, “and not vulnerable at all”.
What politicians, on the other hand, are doing is hoping that an epidemic in the summer will shrink the wave in the fall. “But that only works if the virus variant in the fall is very similar to that in the summer,” Elling notes. And it cannot be said that this is the case.
Booster for people over 65: ‘But it has to be done quickly’
One option is to give people over 65 a boost now. “But that has to happen soon,” said the scientist. If you have 20,000 infections a day in a week, it’s too late. Specific vaccines against the Omicron BA.5 variant would not come until after the wave was over, so a booster would be needed as soon as possible. It wouldn’t prevent an infection, but it would prevent serious courses.
Elling therefore argued for measures to slow down the infection process, such as reducing the mask requirement. Not only could it stop the wave, but it could keep it lower “and probably buckle sooner.” With the decision to lift the mask requirement, he took a hard line in court: “With 30,000 cases a day in the summer we don’t need masks, but with 30,000 cases a day in the fall we do. That is incomprehensible.” He also saw it as useful in the fight against the new wave to restart the test offers.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
