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We cannot treat COVID-19 like the flu right now; this is a terrible lead – told PAP the director of IGC PAN in Poznań, prof. Michał Witt. SARS-CoV-2 infection is an experiment on a living organism that is performed by nature itself and we still do not know certain things – he added.
- It is wrong to believe that an Omicron infection is the best way to obtain herd immunity. We must remember that a coronavirus infection is like letting a genie out of a bottle – nobody controls it – warns prof. Witt
- As he explains, we cannot assume that the Omikron variant is the last variant. The virus is mutating and will continue to mutate
- The expert also cautions against comparing SARS-CoV-2 to flu and treating it in a similar way. He considers loosening the restrictions at this stage as risky
- Check your health. Just answer these questions
- You can find more about the coronavirus on the TvoiLokony home page
Director of the Institute of Human Genetics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Poznań prof. Michał Witt told PAP that information emerging in the public space that infections with the Omikron variant are milder and this could result in faster achievement of the so-called herd immunity – in his opinion, this is a misleading and dangerous approach.
«It is wrong to believe that an Omicron infection is the best way to obtain herd immunity. We must remember that a coronavirus infection is like letting a genie out of a bottle – nobody controls it. These are biological mechanisms that work independently of us. We are able to control the vaccine delivery system very carefully. However, the propagation of the virus in the population – in no way »- he emphasized.
He added that it cannot be assumed that the currently dominant variant of Omikron will remain in this form and that new variants should not be feared.
«We cannot assume that the Omikron variant is the last variant. The virus is mutating and will continue to mutate. Is the level of immunity we currently have achieved – as a result of this poor vaccination of the population, but at the same time of the fact that we already have many survivors – enough to “suppress” the omicron infection and prevent more? I would be very careful in this type of calculation, ”he said.
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Professor Witt pointed out that “the natural evolution of coronaviruses is to mutate towards greater virulence and less virulence. But since the mutation phenomenon itself is untargeted – we cannot assume that there will not be a variant that will be highly virulent, but at the same time more virulent than the Omicron. It may only appear temporarily, possibly being eliminated by natural biological mechanisms, but – the health effects can be very serious ».
“Relaxing restrictions is a risky move”
The professor noted that the recently announced easing of restrictions related to the pandemic or the concept of treating SARS-CoV-2 as an influenza virus – “is a risky move”.
«We cannot treat COVID-19 like the flu right now. It must be remembered that infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus is an experiment on a living organism that is performed by nature itself. And we still do not know certain things. Just as we were surprised – although we should not have been – the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, we are not able to predict what will happen next »- he said.
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«We cannot at the moment assume that COVID-19 will just stay with us soon, and we will fight it like the flu. One may suspect that it will actually be like this one day, but to say when it happens is fortune-telling on tea leaves, nobody knows. And in such matters, being more cautious is always better than exposing people to serious health consequences »- he added.
Do you want to test your COVID-19 immunity 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 professor reminded that the Omikron variant is characterized by a very high virulence, i.e. it spreads very quickly and intensively in the population. «This is a major risk with low vaccination levels. The third dose of vaccination is crucial to protect against Omicron infection. Unfortunately, it is known that the level of vaccination with a booster dose in Poland looks very bad »- noted prof. Witt.
Author: Anna Jowsa
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