With regard to the corona pandemic, the virologist Christian Drosten has described China as his "greatest concern" at the moment.
“Of course Omikron comes there too.
And the vaccine that was used there was poorly effective against this variant.
This is a real danger, also for the global economy, "said the head of virology at the Berlin Charité in an interview with the" Süddeutsche Zeitung ".
When asked whether a lockdown was needed in Germany, Drosten said that it would have to be seen "whether and how the measures that are now in force and that have been followed up again will work".
If the contact restrictions do not work as hoped, one could, in Drosten's view, consider restrictions to which only people who have already been boosted have access - what he referred to as "1G".
Twice vaccinated people are protected from severe courses even with Omikron, "but practically not against infection," said the virologist.
Virus transmission in the event of infection is also hardly reduced.
“But those who have recently been boosted are likely to contribute less to the spread and are noticeably protected against the disease.
At Delta, 2G and 3G may be enough, but now Omikron is writing the rules. "
According to what is known so far, he believes that the contact measures that are currently in force and that have now been followed up made the increase in the number of cases a little slower in this country than in other countries. “In Great Britain and South Africa, the numbers have shot up because there were no more control measures.” For example, wearing a mask seems to be “particularly effective.” “This is why we are in, and because people are also cautious in private life Germany already better positioned. "
Drosten has long warned against large vaccinations, especially among the elderly.
“If we let the virus go through now, we will have many deaths and full intensive care units.
You can't turn a blind eye to that, that's why politics also act, ”he said in the interview.
It is still uncertain whether Omikron makes you less seriously ill per se.
"The latest studies from South Africa, England and Scotland agree that the weakening of the disease-causing effect is largely, but not exclusively, due to the increasing immunity of the population," Drosten told the newspaper.