Coronavirus
Drosten: No pandemic only for the unvaccinated
The virologist Christian Drosten. Photo: Frank Rumpenhorst / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The Berlin virologist speaks in “Die Zeit” about possible measures to contain the pandemic. In his opinion, booster vaccinations can help, but only if they come with “great vigor”.
The Berlin virologist Christian Drosten believes it is wrong to speak of a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” at the moment. “We have a pandemic to which everyone is contributing – including those who have been vaccinated, albeit a little less,” said the head of virology at the Berlin Charité of “Zeit” (Thursday).
“Unfortunately, the Delta variant has the property of spreading despite the vaccination.” After just two or three months, the protection against spreading the vaccination begins to decline. “And we have a lot of people, especially in the relevant age groups, who were vaccinated in May or June. They are now gradually losing their protection against proliferation, and they are becoming more and more. “
At the moment, a booster campaign carried out “with great vigor”, starting with the elderly, could help contain the pandemic. “This would probably guarantee herd protection at least for the duration of the winter,” says Drosten. It would therefore be even better if both were successful: boosting and closing vaccination gaps. “But that’s a matter of politics,” emphasized the virologist.
Besides that, there weren’t many options left. He considers calls for more tests to be unrealistic, said Drosten. For a noticeable test effect you need ten million tests a week like in spring. “In the absence of alternatives, contact-restricting measures will have to be taken again because of the unvaccinated people.”
He does not know whether this is legally tenable. What remains is a 2G model, i.e. a lockdown for unvaccinated people. “Whether that will lower the incidence in November – I have my doubts.”