The Omicron variant now dominates the contaminations in Belgium. More contagious, but less virulent and less fatal, is there good news that suggests the near end of the pandemic?
As the Omicron variant spreads at high speed, this week, Tyra Grove Krause, one of the most eminent epidemiologists in Denmark, was formal: according to her studies, we still have two months before hoping. a return to normal.
The Omicron variant could be the solution to the Covid crisis if it becomes the dominant variant everywhere in the world, also believe virologist Marc Van Ranst and epidemiologist Simon Dellicour, who spoke on the subject Thursday.
According to expert projections, the hospitalization curve will rise sharply before falling again around March. We would find ourselves in a viable situation. Why does this curve descend at this rate? “There is the collective immunity aspect. And then, when you see the current contamination rates, it cannot continue like this. At some point, the virus will no longer have targets to infect”, says Geert Molenberghs, member of the Covid-19 Crisis Strategy Expert Group (GEMS).
For his part, Nathan Clumeck, professor emeritus in infectious diseases at ULB and CHU Saint-Pierre, explains that by adding the people vaccinated (with 2 doses) and the people who have already had the covid, we approach a 90% of the population. “This is called double immunity. We think that with the Omicron, when we get to 90-95%, the wave breaking phenomenon will appear.”, he specifies.
Until then, Erika Vlieghe, president of GEMS, fears that there are too many sick people at the same time in hospitals. “Of course, by March, a large part of the population will have been in contact with the virus, but hopefully that will not happen in the next 2-3 weeks. We must continue to protect ourselves . You can’t have a big wave. “