“We won’t get around a lockdown,” says virologistDorothee von Laer. Vaccination for under-12s could provide a remedy.
Innsbruck virologist Dorothee von Laer believes a new Corona lockdown is inevitable in the fall. The expert says so in an interview in the current issue of the news magazine “profil”. “If the wave does not flatten out soon, we will not get around a lockdown,” says von Laer. The reasons: low Corona vaccination rates, declining protection among the elderly and the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus.
There is one big but, however: an end to Corona measures is feasible in the spring of 2022, according to the virologist. “We will have the vaccination for under-twelve-year-olds this winter, then it will take about two months to vaccinate the high-risk children. Besides that, we should do a detailed antibody study to know if 85 percent of the population is protected,” she said. After that, she said, “we can abandon the measures and let the disease pass.”
Von Laer is also sharply critical of the 1G rule that has been bandied about time and again, saying it makes “no sense at all” because it excludes people who have recovered. According to the virologist, the latter are even better protected against a new infection than the vaccinated. Incidentally, the Innsbruck Medical University announced such a 1G rule on Saturday.
Current forecasts are for an infection incidence of up to 2,000 corona cases per day as early as Sept. 1. On the last forecast day, September 1, a 7-day incidence of 136 cases per 100,000 population is expected. By comparison, Austria’s current incidence is still just below 100. The range of 7-day incidence on the last forecast day in the forecast is from 69 in Burgenland to 193 in Vienna.
- source: profil/heute.at/picture:pixabay.com
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