Top virologist gets in the mood for a hard winter - and gives two reasons against corona herd immunity

In connection with the coronavirus, there is always talk of herd immunity.

The Frankfurt virologist Sandra Ciesek vehemently warns against this concept.

• Sandra Ciesek

  is director at the Frankfurt Institute for Medical Virology.

• The

  coronavirus *

  by a

  herd immunity

  to fight it sees as a wrong path.

• The virologist gives an interview on the further course of the

  corona pandemic

  .

Frankfurt

- Since the beginning of autumn, the number of

tested positive has

increased exponentially.

Germany is currently approaching the

19,200 infections per day forecast

by

for Christmas.

Sandra Ciesek

conducts research at the Frankfurt Institute for Medical Virology and is currently one of the most sought-after voices when it comes to the

.

In an interview with

on

, Sandra Ciesek gave a personal assessment of the current situation of the pandemic in Germany.

Above all, she warned against the principle of

, which is often used as an argument against corona measures.

"We are still a long way from immunity for the population as a whole, ie herd immunity," said Ciesek.

+

Virologist Sandra Ciesek warns of herd immunity (archive picture).

© Frank Rumpenhorst / dpa

Corona cannot be combated via herd immunity: Virologist Sandra Ciesek on the infection

The

assumes that many people are seriously ill or even die before there is a

could come of the population.

In addition, it has not yet been clarified to what extent an illness with the

really leads to immunity.

Ciesek:

Ciesek is therefore calling for the known cases to be investigated in which there was reinfection with the

.

In this way one can find more knowledge about possible vaccines and their application.

The

virologist from Frankfurt was somewhat surprised

by the high number of

in September and October; she expected the rapid increase in December or January, as significantly more people are indoors at this time.

“In any case, it is certain that we will have to deal with the fact that the background noise will be higher over the winter than in summer,” said Ciesek.

Fighting the Coronavirus: These Ways Could Help With Containment

If we want to protect the most vulnerable in our society, we must try together to reduce the number of cases.

https://t.co/2MRxdiAdMT

- Sandra Ciesek (@CiesekSandra) October 31, 2020

In an interview with Spektrum.de, Sandra Ciesek therefore advises using the

and keeping a

.

In order to make the work of the employees of the health authorities easier and to make the chains of infection more understandable, it would make sense to write such a diary.

"Not every name is necessary, it is enough to note events and places that are possible sources of infection," says Ciesek.

List of rubric lists: © Frank Rumpenhorst / dpa