The number of infections is increasing. Omikron is spreading quickly and will soon be the dominant variant in Germany. Virologist Christian Drosten expects a “steep wave” and continues to advertise the booster vaccinations.
From the point of view of the virologist Christian Drosten, a booster vaccination is the best weapon against infection with the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus. “What really protects against Omikron is the triple vaccination,” said the scientist from the Berlin Charité on Tuesday in the “Coronavirus Update” podcast at NDR-Info. Therefore, the strong focus on the booster vaccinations in Germany is right and important.
Looking at previous observations, according to which Omikron presumably causes milder disease courses, Drosten said: “I think you can now say that it is so.” Collected data indicated that with Omicron infections, a smaller proportion of those infected have to go to hospital.
Only the third dose lowers the risk
Drosten referred to a study by Imperial College London, dated shortly before Christmas, according to which the risk of hospitalization with an Omicron infection was up to 30 percent lower than with the Delta variant. For people who have been vaccinated twice, the risk drops by 34 percent, and for people with a booster vaccination by as much as 63 percent. In the case of the unvaccinated who become infected with the Omikron variant, this risk drops by at least 24 percent.
In view of the “many unvaccinated people that we unfortunately have in Germany”, this is good news, said Drosten. However, courses of varying severity are inevitably to be expected and the all-clear is not appropriate. In addition, the positive effect of the booster vaccination is clearly shown here: “The gain not vaccinated to two times vaccinated is only ten percent more, but the gain from vaccinated twice to three times is then almost doubled.”
A Danish study from December also shows how important booster vaccinations are. Only the third vaccination dose significantly reduces the risk of being infected with Omikron, explained Drosten. The double vaccination is likely to do less to control the spread. “We are pretty unprotected against Omikron and the triple vaccination, it makes the difference.”
Omikron spreads extremely quickly
In view of the rapid spread of Omikron, the virologist predicted that the variant would now quickly “take over the business” and will also dominate in Germany at the end of January. In this country one currently assumes a doubling time of the Omikron infection numbers of around four days, in other countries the doubling time has already been around two days. The currently comparatively slower increase in the number of Omikron in Germany is mainly due to the – in contrast to many other countries – still applicable Corona measures.
On Friday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and the Prime Ministers of the federal states want to discuss the further corona course for the first time in the new year. It should also be about a possible change to quarantine regulations. Shorter times are under discussion, especially for employees in important supply areas, in order to avoid too many staff absences. Drosten said this shortening was an important consideration. If the omicron wave were dynamic, one would ultimately lose a lot of workers, which would be “a great deal of damage to society”.
The virologist warned strongly against coming to the conclusion that it was better to go through an infection than to be vaccinated, given the comparatively mild course. Even young, completely fit people risked severe courses and, for example, lung damage.
Looking ahead to the next few weeks and months, Drosten said: “We will definitely see a steep wave too, but I think we are on the way overall, let’s say towards Easter, where we still have many options, many cards, that we can still draw. ” The infection process must be moderated and readjusted in the right places, he demanded.
Source From: Stern
