2024-02-13 20:00:00
Even though the days of contact tracing and mask requirements are over, the coronavirus is still circulating among the population. Especially in the last few months, a particularly large number of people seem to have been hit ( once more). It might even have been the biggest wave of the entire pandemic.
“All doctors and other experts agree that there was a really big wave this fall.” This is what infectiologist and virus expert Huldrych Günthard from the University Hospital of Zurich told the NZZ. From October onwards, the number of positive corona tests in the hospital increased from five to 30 per day to over 65.
Outside of hospitals, however, there is hardly any testing for Corona anymore. That’s why there are no figures on how many people have actually recently been infected.
However, wastewater monitoring provides reliable insight. According to the newspaper, the virus proportions show that it might have been one of the largest or even the largest wave. Not only the values from the selected Swiss sewage treatment plants, but also the figures from Germany show an enormous increase at the end of 2023.
The particularly infectious variant JN.1 is primarily to blame for the increase. According to data from ETH Zurich, this spread extremely quickly from November 2023.
It has now completely replaced the other variants, including the previously predominant variant EG.5.
Despite the many infections, the hospitals were significantly less busy than during other waves. Many people are still protected from severe disease through previous vaccinations and infections. There are still deaths due to Corona, but there is no excess mortality.
Because: “We can now help high-risk patients who get Covid in the hospital,” Günthard told the newspaper. “We have effective medications that we give to vulnerable patients immediately following diagnosis. In this way we prevent serious illnesses in the vast majority of cases.” It is only difficult when high-risk patients become infected at home but do not notice it.
This type of “silent” corona wave is now likely to become the new norm. Tens of thousands might become infected once more next fall with a new, modified variant. According to researchers, protection once morest serious illnesses is likely to last for a long time.
1707866308
#biggest #wave
