It was able to reduce the number of "Corona" injuries to a minimum

Interview ... an American epidemiologist calls on Europe to learn from the experience of Asian countries

• Epidemiologist Maria Kerkove.

  Archives

• The number of injuries is increasing in Europe, unlike Asia.

  Archives

picture

The American epidemiologist, Maria Van Kerkove (43 years), spoke about the impact of the Corona pandemic, and said in an interview with Dershspiegel that Coronavirus infections will not decrease until the second half of next year.

Here are excerpts from the interview:

As an expert at the World Health Organization, you received a letter talking about many cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, China ... What was your opinion at the time?

I was on vacation with my sister in North Carolina when I got the news.

I know that the Chinese have wonderful laboratories, and yet they classified the virus as "unknown", so I thought it was a strange disease.

Our management asked us to gather for a press conference, which happened at 3 in the morning.

So I immediately suspected that it was a new type of Corona virus?

- Of course, I am an expert with Corona viruses.

On the fourth of January we went to the headquarters of the World Health Organization in Geneva.

During the next six months I did not go home very little.

In February, you went to China with the World Health Organization, what did you see?

We went to China, met with experts from disease control authorities, and visited hospitals and special treatment centers.

And I visited animal markets, and the neighborhood from which the first cases appeared.

- The World Health Organization has started another visit to China, to find out the origin of the disease .. Did you think at that time that you would succeed in that?

- There was great cooperation between us.

It is likely that the source of the disease is from bats.

But it is important to know which animal was an intermediary, and the virus was transmitted between a bat and a person, as it easily transmitted to humans and spread.

Of course, the search for the source of the virus must start in Wuhan.

- After your return from China, you were infected with the disease, and in order not to transmit the infection to your children, you isolate yourself for two months.

- That was a terrifying time.

I stayed inside my house, but I was watching my children through the window for two months, until one of my children saw me, and he ran to my arms, so I canceled my isolation.

Was this isolation not exaggerated ... from the point of view of the present time?

- It's easy to say now.

But then that was not the case, and I was protecting my family.

We did not know how the virus was transmitted in Switzerland, in addition to many other things, which were still unknown to us.

Our life has become somewhat normal now.

In a record period, pharmaceutical companies were able to develop and test vaccines.

How much time do we need for our life to return to normal?

After the emergence of vaccines, the number of infections will not decrease until the second half of 2021. At the beginning, the priority for using the vaccine will be for the elderly, and the most vulnerable to disease.

It is a good idea to protect them from disease in the hope that this will reduce the number of deaths.

On the other hand, they will not transmit disease as quickly as young men.

When young people are vaccinated, the number of infections will decrease.

In Germany, injuries are increasing a lot, and the closure has not succeeded so far.

Winter will be harsh in many European countries.

Europe could have learned a lot from the countries of Asia, which were able to reduce the number of infections, yet they remained fully alert to any sudden increase.

And when the number of infections in Europe decreased last summer, many believed that the "pandemic" had ended. That is why a second, bad wave came.

Will we be able to declare one day that the "pandemic" is over?

Of course, I cannot say when this day will be.

But he will come, and I hope the world together celebrates this victory.

Follow our latest local and sports news, and the latest political and economic developments via Google news