In Poland, hardly anyone thinks and remembers COVID-19, but this does not mean that the pandemic is over and the coronavirus has miraculously disappeared. Experts know this very well, which is why they are already predicting what may happen in the fall, when many pathogens (including SARS-CoV-2), which give us a bit of a break in the summer, return, often with redoubled strength and in new variants. They predict and advise if and how to prepare for the next, sixth wave of coronavirus infections.
- Scientists and doctors have no doubt that the pandemic is not over and COVID-19 has not gone away. The evidence is the global statistics, which clearly show that there are still quite a lot of infections, also in countries that theoretically had the epidemic under control
- According to experts, there is no point in deluding that by mildly undergoing an infection with Omikron in the spring, in six months we will still be able to boast of resistance to this or a new variant of SARS-CoV-2
- The sixth wave in autumn is not a certainty, but we should be prepared for it. Ideally – by vaccinating or vaccinating, if we have not already done so
- The near future of COVID-19 was discussed by prof. dr hab. n. med. Krzysztof J. Filipiak, dr hab. n. med. Tomasz Dzieciatkowski, prof. dr hab. n. med. and n. in health Marcin Czech and dr hab. n. for health Grzegorz Juszczyk
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Prof. Dzieiątkowski appeals for humility
According to Dr. hab. Tomasz Dzieiątkowski, a virologist, microbiologist, laboratory diagnostician, assistant professor at the Chair and Department of Medical Microbiology of the Medical University of Warsaw, we are not able to predict what will appear in the fall, but one thing is certain:
– We should not be afraid of the coronavirus, but we should respect it and be careful about it, because it may still surprise us very unpleasantly.
The expert referred to reports on further variants and sub-variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which are under the observation of scientists and the World Health Organization (WHO). – Viruses mutate during replication, and this happens in living cells. If we are convalescents or vaccinated persons, or both, the risk of replication is much lower, explained the virologist.
When asked whether they believe that 90-95 percent. Poles are currently immune to the coronavirus, the expert replied shortly: – I do not believe. No country in the world has so far boasted that it has reached the threshold of collective immunity even at the level of 90%, let alone 95%.
The fact that we suffered from the coronavirus infection at the beginning of the year or in the spring does not, unfortunately, guarantee that we will not get sick in the fall. (we can get infected with both Omicron and another, perhaps a new variant). All because of the “mild” nature of the variant responsible for the fifth wave of COVID-19 in Poland.
On the one hand, this is a plus – thanks to this, most of us avoided a severe course of the infection. On the other hand, the mild form of COVID-19 does affect our immune system. – The milder the infection, the weaker the immunity will be, especially if we are not vaccinated or vaccinated – noted Prof. Dziecistkowski.
The rest of the text below the video.
Vaccination, vaccination and vaccination again
Prof. Dzieiątkowski has no doubts that we will need more booster doses. – The virus will always be two steps ahead of us. We can extrapolate what genetic variants will arise, but we don’t know which one will start circulating in the population. (…) Booster doses will be, as with the flu vaccine, against the most common variants in the population in the previous year.
The virus has nowhere to replicate, because still over 40 percent. Poles are not vaccinated. Recently, they have been joined by hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who are poorly protected against many infectious diseases, including COVID-19.
Prof. dr hab. Marcin Czech, a specialist in epidemiology and public health, a lecturer at the Warsaw University of Technology and the Institute of Mother and Child, believes that Poland should be more decisive when it comes to vaccinating the Ukrainian population. – After a few weeks of presence in Poland, these people should receive information campaigns and the following vaccination campaigns as well as requirements for newborn children, for people who are starting to operate on our labor market, for children going to Polish kindergartens.
– Anticipating that we may not have any additional pharmacological prophylaxis tool, vaccines with a modified composition, the vaccines currently available will be the only population-based tool that we will be able to use to protect against severe course and deaths – said Dr. n. health Grzegorz Juszczyk, director of the National Institute of Public Health – PZH. A public health expert added that it will soon be determined together with the medical community how to schedule the next booster dose also for patients under 80 years of age.
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