Then we can say goodbye to the pandemic

Joakim Dillner at Karolinska Institutet believes that the widespread spread of omicron infection will soon subside and that the disease will instead enter an endemic phase with sporadic outbreaks in limited parts of the population.

He says that we will probably reach a plateau in the spread of infection within three weeks.

- After that, the infection will decrease almost as fast as it came.

And then we can probably say goodbye to the pandemic, as long as there is no new variant that completely changes the rules of the game.

But unfortunately it has happened twice already and it is possible that it can happen again.

Unworn is best because of it.

Researcher: Risk that the restrictions have no effect

According to Farshid Jalalvand, researcher in clinical microbiology at Lund University, Sweden will be in good condition when the spread of infection decreases given the "wall of immunity that we have now built up".

At the same time, he emphasizes that one should be humble in the face of how little can be predicted.

- 15 weeks ago, everyone had answered "yes" to the question of whether we are on the way to the end of the pandemic.

Then came the omikron that overturned everything.

The rapid and uncontrolled spread of the omicron variant means that there is a risk that the restrictions will have no effect, he says.

- I think the Danes have made good decisions considering everything we know.

Danish epidemiologist: We let the infection have its way

In Denmark, the spread of infection is still at a very high level.

At the same time, fewer and fewer people need intensive care and voices are already being raised to abolish the few restrictions that remain in the country.

Viggo Andreasen, senior lecturer in mathematical epidemiology at Roskilde University, believes that the pandemic could be over by spring if the infection is spread.

- We are heading into a more normal situation in the style of being able to get the flu every few years, he says.

WHO chief: Europe ends soon

Hans Kluge, WHO's regional director in Europe, also believes that the omicron will lead to an end to the pandemic in Europe in connection with the variant taking over.

- It is likely that the region is heading towards a kind of final stage of the pandemic, Kluge told the news agency AFP on Sunday.

However, he urges caution due to the virus' ability to mutate.