MADRID – Director virologist Christian Drosten from Germany recently made a remarkable statement about Spain and Portugal. He believes that the countries can put the corona pandemic behind them in the spring.
Christian Heinrich Maria Drosten is director of Virology at La Charité University Hospital in Berlin. He is known as one of the discoverers of the SARS coronavirus SARS-CoV. Since the corona pandemic, he has published dozens of studies about the virus and has been featured in various podcasts.
High vaccination coverage Spain and Portugal key to success
Since the end of 2019, various ‘experts’ have already made several statements and predictions about the course of the pandemic. Yet this virologist often seems to be right. Furthermore, according to the German virologist, the key lies in the high vaccination rates of both Spain and Portugal.
“In countries with a high vaccination coverage, such as Spain and Portugal, the pandemic could be finally overcome in the spring.” These were Drosten’s words during an interview with the German newspaper Der Spiegel a few weeks ago.
Spain and Portugal approach endemic phase
For the record: It is not the case that Covid-19 no longer exists in such a country. Only when a large part of the population is immune – either through vaccination or having been through the virus – and only local outbreaks occur, then the pandemic phase comes to an end. At this point, the endemic phase starts. This is a phase in which a virus or disease continues to occur but there is stability in the number of infections.
Explosive rise forecast for Germany came true
Drosten has already made several predictions in the past two years, many of which have come true. At the same time as the ruling on Spain and Portugal, Drosten predicted that Germany is far from finished with the pandemic. He predicted the flooding of hospitals in his own country as soon as the Delta variant would strike in full force. That moment now seems to have arrived in Germany.
Need to develop new vaccines not excluded
According to Drosten, we must work intelligently and carefully towards the endemic phase and try to avoid the collapse of the health care system as much as possible. Limiting social contacts is immediately necessary and vaccination, including the administration of the booster shot, must be accelerated. Drosten does not rule out the need to develop new vaccines if new variants emerge.
