Christian Drosten does not believe that the pandemic will end anytime soon. The corona expert is alarmed about a possible “Deltakron” mutant.
Berlin – Does the omicron variant of the corona virus herald the end of the pandemic? The virologist Christian Drosten is pessimistic on this question. The pathogen could soon become more aggressive again – possibly through a “Deltakron” mutant.
According to Drosten, it is not necessarily the case that Corona is getting weaker and weaker. A recombination of omicron and delta, for example, could be very dangerous. “It’s possible to have a mutant that carries, for example, the spike protein from the omicron virus to continue to enjoy that immune advantage, but has the rest of the genome from the Delta virus, because perhaps the rest of the genome in Delta confers a stronger ability to replicate.” , other properties that give the virus an extra advantage, so that the strongest properties from both worlds, from both serotypes, come together,” the expert told Deutschlandfunk.
Is the Corona variant “Deltakron” coming? Drosten also warns of other dangers
The head of virology at the Charité Berlin does not believe in rapid herd immunity. It is a fallacy to assume that one becomes infected with the corona variant Omicron, survives the mild course and is subsequently immune. Drosten’s Charité colleague Leif Erik Anders recently emphasized that a breakthrough infection with omicron could replace a fourth corona vaccination.
“It could also be the case that within a few weeks an omicron virus variant suddenly appears that again has a stronger pathogenic effect. Those who are not vaccinated would then have no immune protection against this effect. You couldn’t vaccinate against that so quickly,” said Christian Drosten.
The Delta variant also continues to pose a danger in Germany. Christian Drosten warned on Deutschlandfunk: “And if Omikron doesn’t push out the Delta virus there now, it doesn’t necessarily have to, then the Delta virus could come back next winter. You then have to make sure that the vaccination is adapted to both corona variants.
Christian Drosten on corona variants: Vaccination is the best protection
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach had previously spoken of a possible strong return of the delta mutant. “The Delta variant is currently changing. There’s a good chance we’ll be dealing with a mutated Delta type in the fall. Anyone who has not been vaccinated and falls ill with omicron would probably have protection against infection of well under 50 percent against a new Delta variant in autumn, ”said the SPD politician to the Bild newspaper.
The consequence of the health politician: “Without additional vaccinations, these people would then be at high risk. There is therefore no way around vaccination.” Lauterbach is in favor of a quick vaccination against the corona virus.
Christian Drosten also advocates a stronger vaccination campaign because of the risk of mutants. “Of course you can build up this population immunity without vaccinations, the only question is what that costs in terms of deaths in populations that are relatively old,” the virus expert told the radio station. He referred to the United States, where there are at least 500 corona deaths practically every day. (tvd)
