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– The pandemic will not end soon – says Dr. Paweł Grzesiowski. And he adds: Omikron will not cause us to acquire collective immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. – The opponent changes all the time. If a new variant appears in a year’s time, we will have mass illnesses again – explains the pediatrician and expert of the Supreme Medical Council on combating COVID-19.
- Last day there were over 39 thousand. coronavirus infections. The record for the current wave is almost 58, and the forecasts say that the incidence will peak at 100-140.
- We will have many convalescents, but the virus continues to mutate and we cannot only count on naturally acquired immunity – says Dr. Paweł Grzesiowski
- Naturally acquired immunity fades over time, and the virus mutates, and this new variant breaks that immunity, adds the expert
- According to the doctor, “the pandemic will not end soon”, but we have more and more tools to fight it
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage
Have we achieved herd immunity in Poland?
In the face of forecasts that a significant part of the population in Poland may become ill with Omikron, questions about herd immunity arise more and more often. According to Dr. Paweł Grzesiowski, we did not get such a thing after the wave of COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta variant. – First, we are vaccinated too little. Secondly – yes, there were maybe 3-4 million cases of disease in Delta, so we cannot talk about population immunity – he says in an interview with Polska The Times.
Will we get one after the Omicron wave? “We will have many convalescents, but the virus continues to mutate and we cannot only count on naturally acquired immunity,” explains Grzesiowski and emphasizes that “the best effect is when we are vaccinated and we have gently passed Omikron”.
– In my opinion, unvaccinated Omikron convalescents will fall ill again in six months – he adds.
The rest of the text is below the video.
Grzesiowski does not agree with forecasts that up to 30 million Poles may get sick. So in this case too it will be difficult to get herd immunity. – Omikron has already passed through Great Britain, through the United States, and there was no such scale of disease there. Indeed, the numbers of infections can be very high, but the faster the virus attacks, the shorter the wave duration, because the “bubble” fills up with healers. Please note – in the first wave of the pandemic, not all of Poland fell ill. 10, maybe 15 percent fell ill. society. Models are made to practice different concepts, but I do not identify with this model – he explains.
- A household member infected with Omicron. How to protect yourself and not “catch” the virus from it?
The pandemic won’t end soon
15 percent survivors after variants Alpha or Delta are re-infected with the Omikron variant. How does Dr. Grzesiowski explain it? – Naturally acquired immunity declines over time and the virus mutates and it is the new variant that breaks that immunity. This is in line with immunology – whether vaccine or natural immunity wears off over time – explain.
Antibodies obtained after vaccination against measles or rubella are life-long. In the case of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, “the number of antibodies decreases and disappears after six months, after one year”.
- These symptoms indicate that you may have had an Omicron infection before [LIST]
– After the Omicron wave, there will be no end to the pandemic; if a new variant appears in a year’s time, we will have mass illnesses again – says Dr. Grzesiowski. – The opponent changes all the time – he adds.
According to Dr. Grzesiowski’s “pandemic will not end soon”, but we know more and more about SARS-CoV-2 and we have effective tools to fight it, especially vaccinations and new antiviral drugs.
Those who are vaccinated also die – why?
The argument often raised by anti-vaccines that the vaccinated people also die from COVID-19 is called by Dr. Grzesiowski in an interview with polskatimes.pl “manipulation”.
– This is not true as the fact of being vaccinated is not the same as acquiring immunity. Here is a difficult area that is often overlooked in vaccine communication. Say this: ‘We have a patient who died despite being vaccinated; we would like to inform you that this person had such and such risk factors, and therefore it was probably a man whose body did not respond to vaccination »- explains Grzesiowski.
- From February 1, covid certificates are valid for a shorter period. How long is your immunization valid? [WE EXPLAIN]
Speaking about the structure of deaths among vaccinated persons, an expert of the Supreme Medical Council emphasizes that «they are practically only elderly people with comorbidities, among them the vaccine effectiveness is not 90%, but 70%.«.
– Every third person in this group may not respond to vaccination. Therefore, it is crucial, it should be said, truthfully, that not every vaccinated person will avoid death due to covid, if he is a person who may not develop immunity after vaccination – adds Grzesiowski.
Why are they not vaccinating?
A large part of the conversation is devoted to the unvaccinated and the reasons behind this attitude. According to Dr. Grzesiowski, the vast majority of people did not get vaccinated out of fear.
– From the fear that may be, for example, from childhood, from other life situations; there are cases of people who have experienced some vaccine reactions and have grown fearful. A man who is afraid, looks for justification not to do something, comes up with various pretexts – says Dr. Grzesiowski and adds that “the Internet responds to such demand in an unlimited way”.
– That is why, I think, we believe the anti-vaccine or even anti-scientific entries on the Internet. Until this fear is rationalized and dissolved, such people will plunge deeper and deeper into this fear – he says.
The rest of the text is below the video.
Such people need to be helped to tame fear, “fear for life, fear for children, fear for fertility, fear for the proper functioning of the brain”. – The first step to overcome this fear is to build a good relationship and trust – says Grzesiowski, who works at the vaccination consultancy clinic.
How to reach people who are afraid of vaccinations?
The aforementioned anxiety can often result from ignorance, however – as emphasized by Dr. Grzesiowski – «In a fearful person, the area responsible for logical thinking is disabled«.
– If you have a scared man in front of you, you do not explain to him that there is no man running around with a knife. Only such a person needs to be calmed down, hugged, gain their trust in the sense that they can relax, because when they are relaxed they can accept some information and start thinking rationally – says the doctor.
- Prof. Thirst: a lot of people will get sick. How long will the fifth wave in Poland last?
– We should, first of all, with people who are afraid, reach a level where these bad emotions are not present – he adds. – If someone does not understand this, he will explain with numbers: “And you know the efficiency index … and do you know what percentage of people die …?” The frightened person does not care for percentages and interest. His mind is blocked in the cognitive area – explains Grzesiowski.
The expert also reveals how he himself works with such people. It is important that the doctor is calm, non-aggressive and avoids comments such as: “You are so late for the vaccination, are you, are you stupid ?!” or “Why did you not get vaccinated, why did you not get vaccinated”. First, he asks the patient why he is afraid of having himself or his child vaccinated.
Why are they afraid?
What answers does Dr. Grzesiowski meet? “I am afraid that my child will have autism”, “I am afraid it will be sterile”, “I am afraid that it will get cancer” – it calculates.
– Then I know what to work on. First, let’s name this fear, let’s draw it. When a child wakes up at night with fear because he had night terrors, how best to help him? We say to the child: “Draw what you dreamed”. In this case it is similar – let’s visualize the threat. When a person who is afraid of vaccinations comes, one must first ask him what he is afraid of. And then talk about it, describe it, draw it. Here, more psychology than medicine is needed – says Grzesiowski.
Do you want to test your immunity to COVID-19 after vaccination? Have you been infected and want to check your antibody levels? See the COVID-19 immunity test package, which you will perform at Diagnostics network points.
The doctor also answers the question why “the society did not believe in the sense of vaccination, despite the great efforts, publicity, social campaigns, billboards, prizes”.
– Over 60 percent those entitled were vaccinated. After all, it’s the majority. The statistics clearly say that almost two-thirds of Poles believed in vaccinations. This 38 percent group of people did not believe it, but it is not a homogeneous group that did not vaccinate themselves or their children because of an absolutely unequivocal anti-vaccine view, he says.
– Remember that vaccination against COVID-19 is a novelty – adds Dr. Grzesiowski.
Also read:
- What should COVID-19 treatment be like at home? The most important recommendations of the expert
- More and more hospitalizations of children with COVID-19. Why is this happening?
- Menstrual disorders after vaccination. Findings
- How to sign up for the COVID-19 test? [WE EXPLAIN]
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