The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Corona warning: Drosten explains why partial lockdown does not work optimally - and whether mass tests help

2020-11-25T22:03:48.672Z


Christian Drosten assesses the current pandemic situation positively in the new edition of the NDR podcast "Coronavirus Update". When it comes to rapid tests, he appeals to politicians.


Christian Drosten assesses the current pandemic situation positively in the new edition of the NDR podcast "Coronavirus Update".

When it comes to rapid tests, he appeals to politicians.

  • Christian Drosten

    assessed the current situation

    in the

    NDR podcast "Coronavirus Update"

    .

  • Although the

    development

    is positive, the

    decline in new infections

    is not yet sufficient.

  • The virologist also calls for

    rapid introduction of rapid tests

    .

Virologist Christian Drosten

spoke

about the current

pandemic situation

in Germany

in the new edition of the

NDR podcast "Coronavirus Update"

- and gave the developments in new infections a positive rating.

"That looks good," said

Drosten when

asked by

NDR presenter

Korinna Hennig whether the measures to contain the

corona virus

are working.

"We're seeing a slight decline, that's nice."

However, the question is whether the decline will happen quickly enough.

At the moment, the numbers have not fallen enough to relieve the hospitals.

Before the upcoming Corona summit by Chancellor Angela Merkel and the prime minister of the federal states, the virologist suggests that

stricter measures would probably result in better results

.

Partial lockdown: Drosten compares Germany with Ireland

As an example, he cited Ireland, which is considered a model for the current partial lockdown * in Germany.

However, “things differ in the details,” like a very

strict rule for working from home

.

"It's different with us and you now have to look at more details."

Public transport has

also been greatly reduced in Ireland, "we have now implemented it differently."

Drosten

also commented on

rapid

tests

called

antigen tests

, which do not

detect

the genetic makeup of the

virus

, but the proteins.

For example, symptom-independent mass screening, as in Slovakia, is unsuitable for the situation in Germany, since antigen tests * are less sensitive than

PCR tests

.

With the currently prevailing infection process there are too many false positive results.

There are also not enough tests for around 83 million people, said

Drosten

.

Corona pandemic: Drosten calls for the rapid introduction of antigen tests

However,

antigen tests

could be very useful in certain areas, for example in nursing homes, the expert found.

If you let relatives test you before visiting - with or without symptoms - and the result is negative, “you can assume that there is simply no virus there,” says

Drosten

.

The Charité virologist emphasizes, however, that a negative test does not necessarily result in a negative result the next day.

You have to get tested again to be on the safe side.

Nevertheless,

antigen tests belong to the future

in combating the corona * pandemic.

"I believe that

antigen tests are

a very important new tool." You now have to "move forward as quickly as possible so that you can get them into use, on the streets" before the winter wave is over.

“You have to use it now,” warns

Drosten

.

Drosten: All corona vaccines "surprisingly efficient"

However, the

virologist warned against false information

regarding the accuracy and performance of the tests *.

The enclosed information was based solely on information provided by the manufacturer.

Tests

are considered a medical device, not a drug.

Therefore they are not subject to any government inspection.

According to the

Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices

, 200 antigen tests are currently approved across Europe.

Drosten described the latest success reports in vaccine research as "very good news".

All vaccines are "surprisingly efficient," said the virologist.

Most recently, the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which works with Oxford University, reported that the

vaccine

they had developed

offers an average of 70 percent protection.

mRNA vaccine: Drosten takes people's worries away

However, one has to wait for more data.

The advantage is that the AstraZeneca vaccine * is cheap compared to other substances, can be kept for months at refrigerator temperature and many doses can be made.

“I've read, this year in the range of 100 million and next year then three billion cans that can be delivered.

That is of course a huge amount, "enthused Drosten.

Concerns of people that mRNA vaccines - such as those from Biontech * or Moderna - could change the genome of the vaccinated are not appropriate.

"The mRNA is not integrated into the cell's own DNA, but is only used to produce the protein, and this protein production runs out at some point, so mRNA is broken down," explained

Drosten

.

(mt) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2020-11-25

You may like

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-28T06:04:53.137Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.