Herd immunity, which was targeted by many during the first waves of COVID-19, is becoming increasingly difficult, if not impossible to achieve, according to retired virologist Jacques Lapierre.
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“When you have a virus like COVID that spends its time changing, it’s difficult to reach a level of immunity high enough for everyone to be protected,” he said in an interview on the Mario Dumont show. .
Variants of the virus mean that Quebecers can be reinfected, which complicates the achievement of collective immunization.
“It’s quite discouraging because what we are saying is that all the hypotheses that we see circulating at the moment, you have to live with the virus, but living with the virus right now, it’s It’s extremely difficult because there will always be lots of people in the hospital, ”says Jacques Lapierre.
Although vaccination is also effective against the BA.2 variant and makes it possible to reduce its symptoms and the risk of hospitalization, Jacques Lapierre is unequivocal: “mass immunization, forget about it”.
The retired virologist observes that the cases of COVID-19 in Quebec have not yet reached the plateau that health authorities in the province are talking about.
“It’s really exponential, it goes up vertically. I don’t see any indication, in this graph, of a plateau or beacon. It’s really a vertical leap and if we look at each of the waves of COVID, between the rise of the curve until the drop, it’s 3-4 months, ”explains Jacques Lapierre.
The latter says that the government should stop suggesting that the sixth wave could end soon.
Currently, from week to week, we are told: in two weeks, there will be no more [de COVID]. Well I think that at some point, we have to look at our curves as it should, and our curves have no tendency to go down at the moment”, he proclaims.
“I think we are optimistic or maybe we take our dreams for realities,” adds the virologist.
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