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Corona numbers are falling worldwide: Herd immunity has already occurred? Expert with astonishing assessment

2021-02-14T05:22:28.796Z


Although coronavirus infections worldwide remain high, they are now falling for the fourth week in a row. What are the causes of the decline?


Although coronavirus infections worldwide remain high, they are now falling for the fourth week in a row.

What are the causes of the decline?

  • The number of new infections worldwide with the coronavirus continues to decline.

  • The German virologist Klaus Stöhr told

    ntv.de

    possible causes for the decline in infections.

  • At the same time, Stöhr warns against hasty reactions to the falling numbers - measures are still important.

Cologne- In its weekly status report, the WHO recorded a decrease in new infections by a global average of 17 percent, and the newly reported deaths from the corona virus have also decreased by ten percent - the percentage is based on the figures from the previous week.

For four weeks, the reported new infections have been falling in the weekly calculations, the number of new deaths worldwide has now fallen for the second week in a row - in the last week there were 88,000 newly reported Covid deaths.

New corona infections are falling worldwide - is it because of the vaccinations?

What are the reasons for the decline in new infections on a global average, while the number of cases continues to rise sharply in some countries?

The vaccinations that are being started cannot yet be named as the reason for the decline, the proportion of the world's vaccinated population is still far too low for that - just 0.24 percent of all people worldwide are vaccinated, and the available vaccine doses are very unevenly distributed around the world.

Corona virus worldwide: Falling corona numbers - assessment by virologist Klaus Stöhr

In an interview with

ntv.de, the

German epidemiologist and virologist Klaus Stöhr

compares the outbreak waves during the influenza pandemics in 1957 and 1968 - here too there were "outbreak waves that are ten to twelve weeks long and then recede".

The low mobility due to the lockdowns in some countries and advanced immunization of the population can imagine Stöhr, who only recently criticized the German government's corona strategy, as the cause of the decline.

Coronavirus: Virologist suspects herd immunity in the USA

The advanced immunization of the population, which is also often referred to as herd immunity, could be the case, for example, in the USA, Stöhr told the news portal.

Actually, for herd immunity, 60 to 70 percent of the population would have to be immune from an infection or vaccination that has already been overcome - in the USA, this proportion is officially around eleven percent of all citizens.

Coronavirus in the USA: Unreported number as a possible explanation for herd immunity

According to Stöhr, there could still be herd immunity: Some studies deal with the unreported numbers during the pandemic, i.e. how many people were probably infected without being registered as sick.

These cases are then not included in the calculations, for example for immunization.

If the numbers of immunization due to illness in the USA are increased by the suspected unreported cases, a possible herd immunity becomes more realistic.

The current infection figures would suggest it: The United States of America is still number one in terms of new infections with the virus worldwide, ahead of Europe, but the number of reported cases has fallen significantly since the beginning of January - by around 60 percent in total. 

Coronavirus in Germany: Why the measures are still important

According to Stöhr, there is no herd immunity in Germany due to the strict measures against the spread of the virus.

The falling numbers around the world should not be interpreted too hastily with joy.

Stöhr sees the previous measures such as contact restrictions and AHA + L rules as necessary to keep the virus in check - which has now also developed multiple mutations that are spreading worldwide.

(eu)

In January, some federal states wanted Klaus Stöhr as an expert in advice on the corona measures - but unsuccessfully.

Science Youtuber and chemist Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim explains more about herd immunity and vaccinations in Germany in a video.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-02-14

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