Virologist Chumakov: There is a chance for an early end to the pandemic

Most of the inhabitants of the planet with the advent of the “omicron” strain will most likely get sick with a coronavirus infection, but there is a chance that this wave will be the last. Konstantin Chumakov, professor at the George Washington University, director of the Center for the US Global Virological Network, said on Radio Russia. .

He warned that everyone will have to get sick, but many will get sick without even knowing it. He added that “there is a chance for an early end to the pandemic.”

“Give me a pandemic that lasted more than two or three years. There were none,” said Chumakov, quoted by Nakanune.RU. He compared the coronavirus with the Spanish flu and said that this virus has not gone away, it just turned into a seasonal flu. “It’s just that there were no vaccines then, everyone just got sick. And as a result, population immunity was formed – herd immunity, as some say, ”Chumakov explained.

“Now, due to the fact that Omicron has entered the scene, maybe this is just the chance that this will end quickly,” Chumakov said.

He noticed that the course of the omicron disease is similar to a common ARVI: “The main manifestations are headache, runny nose, there is no loss of smell, cough, irritation in the nose are typical manifestations of an acute respiratory viral disease of the upper respiratory tract.”

The illness usually lasts from one to five days. However, some people still get seriously ill and die.

Earlier, virologist, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) Felix Ershov called the COVID-19 strain “omicron” a possible signal for the end of the pandemic. According to the academician, “omicron” may be a natural vaccine against other, more severe strains. Ershov argues that this effect is associated with the property of the interference of viruses. Thus, the mutant strain suppresses the previous variants with the help of a system of interferon proteins and pushes them out.