Drosten considers the pandemic to be over – “first endemic wave”

Christian Drosten

After almost three years of the pandemic, several federal states are heading towards a new normal in dealing with the virus.

(Photo: IMAGO/Sabine Gudath)

Berlin According to virologist Christian Drosten, the corona pandemic is over in Germany due to the broad immunity in the population. “This winter we are experiencing the first endemic wave with Sars-CoV-2, in my opinion the pandemic is over,” said the head of virology at the Berlin University Hospital Charité of the “Tagesspiegel”.

In view of the statements, Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann pleaded for all protective measures to be phased out. Drosten is “one of the most cautious scientists” in the pandemic wrote the FDP politician on Twitter on Monday. “Now his conclusion is: The pandemic is over. We are in the endemic state. As a political consequence, we should end the last corona protection measures,” demanded Buschmann.

The term endemic, which is often used somewhat imprecisely, describes a state in which the waves of infection flatten out and the effects of the infection process are therefore less serious for a large part of the population.

The basis is a broadly existing immunity through vaccinations and/or surviving infections, which ensures fewer infections and milder courses. The immune system is no longer confronted with a new type of pathogen, it reacts faster and better to an infection.

Top jobs of the day

Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.

The immunity against Sars-CoV-2 will be so broad and resilient after the winter that the virus can hardly get through in the summer, said Drosten. In his opinion, things could be different if the pathogen made another leap in mutation. “But I don’t expect that anymore at the moment either.”

Mutation could mean “prolongation of the pandemic”.

The Berlin epidemiologist Timo Ulrichs made a similar statement, but he believes that the risk of a mutation has increased, in particular due to the dramatic infection process in China. “Such a large number of circulating viruses can produce increased mutations, the interaction of which can then create new variants,” he told the Handelsblatt.

This risk is increasing in China, but is also present in other regions of the world. “A new variant could force us to extend the pandemic again, including in Europe,” he said.

Many experts now agree that the pandemic is over. The chairman of the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko), Thomas Mertens, had already said at the end of October that he now considered Sars-CoV-2 to be an endemic virus. He pointed out that the question of pandemic versus endemic is probably more of psychological than scientific importance.

Because it must be clear: endemic does not mean that the virus will disappear. It will occur permanently with a relatively constant number of cases.

States react differently

The federal states draw different conclusions from the new situation, as a survey by the German Press Agency shows. They handle the corona measures, which are their sovereignty, completely differently.

>> Read also: The Nutri-Score could become mandatory – but there is competition

The mask requirement in local transport in Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt has already been abolished, and in Schleswig-Holstein it will expire at the end of the year. Bavaria, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Schleswig-Holstein and Rhineland-Palatinate have said goodbye to the obligation to isolate if the test is positive – and instead rely on a stricter mask requirement for infected people.

Others are more cautious. For Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) the following applies: get through the winter well. The state government in Schwerin would like to overturn the obligation to isolate and wear a mask in local transport after winter at the earliest. Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) wants to make a new decision in January on how to proceed – but is already emphasizing that personal responsibility when wearing a mask in local transport is important to him.

More: All developments regarding the corona pandemic in our live blog


source site-11