Würzburg (dpa / lby) - The Würzburg virologist Lars Dölken does not believe that corona variants will develop again, which pose great dangers. "I think a "killer variant" is quite unlikely. Of course, a slightly more dangerous variant could come up again this winter. But after the two omicron waves, we have much greater immunity in the population. If you look further into the future, then it is It is more likely that harmless variants will arise and that the problem will decrease as the population's immunity increases," said the head of the Institute for Virology and Immunobiology at the University of Würzburg in an interview with the "Main-Post" (Saturday).
In spring, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) warned that a variant could develop that was as highly contagious as omicron and as deadly as delta. "That would be an absolute killer option," he said at the time.
In terms of a threat that overshadows everything, "the corona pandemic is certainly over and the risk of renewed lockdowns has fallen massively worldwide," Dölken continued.
However: "Unfortunately, in addition to the influenza virus, we now have a second virus that threatens each and every one of us in interpersonal contacts because it can cause relatively serious illnesses." In addition, the risk of consequential damage such as long-Covid is still difficult to assess. "This hasn't necessarily made the situation easier for the individual."
