In contrast to the first years of the pandemic, virologist Christian Drosten now only considers the coronavirus to be as dangerous as flu viruses. The danger of the virus has changed significantly, Drosten told the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. “Fortunately, we are now in a situation in which the flu comparison is accurate – this is because the population is largely vaccinated and most people have been infected several times,” explained Drosten.
At the beginning of the pandemic, he would not have thought that effective vaccines would be available after a year. “That was great and saved us a lot.” But that doesn’t mean that Corona didn’t pose any danger, said Drosten. “At the beginning of the pandemic there were individual voices who said that Covid was comparable to a normal flu – so what’s all the scaremongering about? Today we know that these were clear misjudgments.”
“The pandemic is history and we shouldn’t bend it”
Referring to the current debate, the scientist said: “Unfortunately, the same people who made false statements back then are now trying to polish their public image. The pandemic is history and we shouldn’t bend it.”
Last summer, Drosten and the investigative journalist Georg Mascolo published the book “Everything is over?: An overdue conversation about a pandemic that will not be the last,” in which the duo deals with the events surrounding the corona pandemic.
