“Ιn a year we would be able to know if we are at the coronavirus endemic stage,” assistant professor of Epidemiology and member of the epidemiologists’ committee of the Health Ministry Ghikas Magiorkinis said on Sunday.
He determined the year after April 2022, that is April 2023, saying “I believe that we need a complete year at least (from last April 2022) in order to be able to reach a safe conclusion, that these negative surprises with the mutations and the changes in the virus’ profile will have stopped.”
He added that we will [then] we should be able to know if we are at the stagnation-endemic stage where we will live together with the virus and it will not change dramatically its properties, regarding, at least, its pathogenic nature”.
Magiorkinis said also that if there isn’t a surge of the pandemic, the fourth dose of the vaccine may not be obligatory, only recommended.
On the course of the pandemic in Greece, he said that there is recession with the number of patients on ventilators dropping below 200 after a long time.
“The prediction is that this drop will continue in the next one or two months. In the last two years we observed a surge in October and I believe that this will happen and in mid or end of October 2022,” he added.
Coronavirus infections in Greece May 4-8, 2022
May 4: 8,015 coronavirus cases – 32 deaths – 231 intubations
May 5: 5,191 – 30 -224
May 6: 5, 130 -33 -211
May 7: 4,698 – 19- 210
May 8: 3,105 -23- 204 (more details in Greek here)
Coronavirus cases map based on data pf the last last 14 days
Note that Greek authorities have not updated the Covid-MAP since April 12, 2022.
This looks like great news. Especially that further boosters might not be obligatory. Interesting too that the figures continue to drop after the government restrictions were dropped. Does this say anything about their effectiveness?