Despite the rapidly increasing corona infections, more and more experts are giving reason for hope. Accordingly, the contagious omicron variant could soon ease the situation significantly.
- The omicron variant is causing a massive increase in infections in Germany.
- However, some experts surprise with their forecast. According to this, the pandemic could soon be over due to Omikron (see first report).
- Even intensive care physicians do not yet see Omikron in the hospitals. Nevertheless, one should not give the all-clear (see update from January 15, 3:40 p.m.).
- This news ticker is continuously updated.
Update from January 15, 3.40 p.m .: According to the specialist society for intensive care and emergency medicine, the omicron wave has not yet fully hit the hospitals. Intensive care physician Christian Karagiannidis expects that there will be significantly more corona patients in the emergency rooms in the next few weeks, according to the doctor, who is also a member of the Corona expert council of the traffic light government, on Deutschlandfunk . Accordingly, the high incidences were not yet noticeable.
“It doesn’t look as if at the moment, as of today, the omicron wave has already hit the intensive care units,” says Karagiannidis in an interview. However, it is currently mainly younger people aged up to 35 who are infected. At the same time, one sees increasing infections in the critical infrastructure, hospitals have to prepare for the fact that doctors and nurses are absent. There is therefore an urgent need for emergency plans for the hospitals.
Karagiannidis also emphasized: “If we now let the whole infection process go to extremes and accept very high incidences, then we also accept that the virus will definitely find the unvaccinated.” 62 percent of corona patients in the intensive care units are already unvaccinated, only 5 percent would have a booster shot.
Omicron wave: Experts with surprising prognosis – “We are approaching the end of the pandemic”
First report from January 15th: Munich – The Corona* virus has been dominating world events for around two years, the rapid spread of the Omicron variant does not detract from it. But despite the skyrocketing numbers across Europe, more and more experts are now giving reason for hope. The highly contagious virus variant in particular should pave the way to the end of the pandemic.
Omikron: Experts with a surprising corona forecast
Virologist Klaus Stöhr, among others, is of this conviction. “We have already seen in the past waves that the speed is increasing. There is an ever steeper climb with a higher peak. And I predict: also a faster decline,” he analyzes to the picture . Such a course of omicron infections can also be observed in South Africa and Great Britain.
The Germany-wide record incidences are actually not reflected as much in the intensive care units as was the case with the Delta variant. According to a study by the US health authority CDC, the probability of ending up in an intensive care unit falls by 74 percent at Omikron. The risk of dying after infection with the variant is even 91 percent lower compared to Delta.
Corona variant: Omikron as an opportunity – “We are approaching the end of the pandemic”
In the interview, Stöhr also emphasizes the chance of greater immunity in the population thanks to the omicron variant. Due to the rapid spread, more and more people would be “naturally immunized”, at the same time the pressure on the clinics would not increase proportionately. Stöhr is therefore certain: “We are approaching the end of the pandemic.”
Although statistician Christian Hesse attributes the enormous spread of Omikron to the fact that around 25 percent of Germans are not vaccinated, he also sees potential in the current situation. “With a rapid increase, the part of the population susceptible to the virus also decreases comparably quickly,” he says to the image . It was the same in South Africa.
Omikron: The corona situation should ease up soon
However, one should not underestimate Omikron for this reason. As the doctor Christian Specht told n-tv , people would still die from the variant in the future. “Only not at all in the magnitudes that we have seen so far,” Specht continues. In the future, most would come into contact with the Corona* mutation, which is why you have to stop “always only considering this incidence.”
Specht also thinks that the corona virus itself will be present in the coming winters. But a phase is now beginning in which Omikron can be used to start being able to “live well” with the virus. He too is therefore of the opinion that the numbers would flatten out by spring. It is even conceivable that the omicron infections would “fall significantly in the next two to three weeks”. (mef) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
Header list image: © Jean-Francois Badias / AP / dpa
