"It will not disappear"

"It will not disappear"

He says that humanity must learn to live with it - to continue to adhere to rules such as keeping distances, wearing a mask, rules of hygiene, testing and vaccination.

"The most important thing is that we must be aware of the fact that the flow of the pandemic is in our hands, and not somewhere in space. Montgomery told Novosti that it is good that many more lives can be saved today than at the outbreak of the pandemic.

Asked whether the division of the virus into delta and omicron marked a turning point in the pandemic and whether there will be more of these analyzes, the interlocutor said:

"The Greek alphabet has many letters. Future variations and mutations will undoubtedly follow. That is why it is crucial to avoid infection, because viruses mutate only if there is an infection. That is why I argue that we must prevent new infections, that is, the spread of COVID-19, because it is the source of new mutations. Just imagine what would happen if we got a mutation that is as contagious as the corona delta strain and as deadly as Ebola".

Professor Montgomery adds that not everything is black.

"Three things have changed significantly since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic to date and give optimism and the wind in the back. First, we know a lot more about this disease and the treatment of the sick, so although COVID-19 is still a potentially deadly disease, we can save more lives today than at the time of the pandemic outbreak", he said.

Second, in Western EU countries, the immunization quota has reached between 70 and 90 percent, which helps to avoid the difficult flow of the disease and numerous, unforeseen complications.

"Finally, thanks to vaccination, many received partial immunity and, quite imperceptibly, recovered from COVID-19, not knowing they had it," he said, adding that on the other hand, the trump card called herd immunity proved to be over and unattainable.

"It will probably not be achieved by planned, spontaneous infection or immunization. The virus is too capable to adapt, to mutate and to always reach its goal with its countless variations, which is to enter the human body and reproduces inside it", he stated.

He added that it is not up to doctors to send messages, but stressed that he would very much like everyone to regain trust in science, conspiracy theorists and ideologically blind people to take up less space, in order to better prepare all of us and health for pandemics. He says that many made mistakes, some due to wrong scientific assessment, others due to ideological blindness.

"Among those who made mistakes was and remains, our interlocutor believes, the World Health Organization, which, even today, has failed in one priority mission to provide and lead an effective and comprehensive immunization campaign in countries without a developed and functional health system", he said. According to him, the question of whether small children should be vaccinated against coronavirus is especially delicate.

"Vaccines are safe and therefore approved for the youngest. I hope that, at some point in the future and as soon as possible, the vaccine against COVID-19 will be an integral part of mandatory immunization in the first years of life, or in that year of child development, when medicine consider it the most favorable and efficient," he concluded.