When will the Corona virus, which killed 5.5 million people and infected 328 million people, be out of our lives? This is the question that the world is wondering the answer to. Professor of immunology, who works at the University of Connecticut in the USA and continues to work at the Jackson Laboratory. According to Derya Forgets, Corona will never leave our lives. However, it is possible that the pandemic will end this year.
He does not forget, “Even with Delta, we were close to the end of the pandemic. Omicron both delayed and accelerated this situation. It is spreading incredibly around the world. It will peak in many countries in a few months. Because there will be no one left to infect. Immune shield will be formed both with vaccines and as a result of infection. My guess is that it starts to decrease towards spring and that the pandemic ends somehow by summer. But this does not mean that the Corona virus will always be with us. We will have to learn to live with the Corona virus. Maybe we will get infected every year, it will be mild like a cold. If a very new variant emerges, a special vaccine may be required against it,” he said.
Derya Forgetz also says that the actual number of cases is two or three times more than those recorded. He stated that the reason for this is that many people do not see the need for testing because they use the home tests or because they have mild symptoms.
Why should the Omicron not be taken lightly?
According to Forgetmez, two important features of Omicron are that it is contagious even with a low viral load and that it can escape from antibodies. Reminding that the protection decreased to 20 percent in those who received two doses of vaccine, the expert reminded that the vaccines are highly protective against severe disease.
Derya Forgets, “It is definitely difficult for those who have not been vaccinated. The hospital load is increasing. There are also those in intensive care. 90 percent are unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated. Omicron can make you seriously ill, kill you. There is no significant increase in deaths. But there was no decrease. This virus should not be taken lightly. There’s also an after. There is an event we call the long covid. Maybe Omicron will cause this just like other variants. Maybe the symptoms last for months, years, there is damage to the body. In this regard, it is definitely not a virus to be taken lightly.”
It should not be forgotten, why the increase in the number of patients under the age of 4 treated in hospital in many countries, including the USA, is “The risk of hospitalization for a person over 65 is 100 times higher than a child. But not zero in children. If 1 million children are infected, even one percent of them are hospitalized, some of them will unfortunately die. There is still risk. With Omicron, this risk has increased even more. Because many more children started to become infected,” he replied.
Remember, he recommends a KN95, N95 or double surgical mask to maximize protection. However, this does not reduce the risk to zero. He notes that it is possible to overcome the disease easily when you encounter very few viruses and if you are double-vaccinated, only thanks to good protective masks.