A fourth wave of the coronavirus epidemic has begun in Germany. The situation in the Czech Republic is not so dramatic: almost 5.5 million Czechs are fully vaccinated, and, with those who have antibodies, we are already close to a 70% immunized population. But interest in vaccination is declining, and a fourth wave of the epidemic will not avoid the Czech Republic. But its impact should not be overwhelming.
The former daily limit of 100,000 vaccinated is now between 35,000 and 45,000 per day. Experts say it is essential to prepare for the next wave of the pandemic. However, according to Daniel Dražan, a member of the Interdisciplinary Group for Epidemic Situations (MeSES) and the Czech Vaccinological Society, we are not yet out of breath with vaccination.
We have to count on a deterioration
“Unfortunately, we can count on the epidemic worsening again, which will convince some of the people who think that nothing can happen to us anymore about the need for vaccination. At this point, I would very much like to be wrong, and I wish we could stay at the current numbers, ” the doctor said.
“Quite a lot of people will also cease to be considered immune because 180 days will have passed since the big March wave of infection,” Dražan alluded to the already-discussed administration of a third vaccine to the sick in particular.
Whatever comes this fall, it shouldn’t have as dire an impact as last year. “The immunity achieved through a combination of vaccination and natural immunity after contracting the disease means that we can not expect epidemic waves as strong as the ones we had at the end of last year and the beginning of this year,” said Drazan.
The rate is reasonable
“On the other hand, the high number of non-immune people, combined with the gradual evolution of immunity and the spread of the highly contagious delta variant, means that we have to expect some worsening of the epidemic in the coming weeks or months, similar to what is already happening in some countries with high vaccination rates,” Dražan added.
According to a target set by the European Union, more than 70 percent of the population would need to be vaccinated to ensure collective immunity. According to Ladislav Dušek, director of the Institute of Health Information and Statistics, the Czech Republic has a good vaccination rate and enough antibodies to reach that goal.
“At the moment, we are very close to 70 percent of the population being immune, even with the addition of infected people,” Dušek stated.