We certainly don’t want to spoil the start of the week for you, but we still suggest talking about Corona again after a long time – because it’s almost five years since the pandemic began to sweep across the planet and because the coronavirus SARS-CoV -2 as well as the disease Covid-19 caused by it, which still concerns politics, society and science to an astonishing extent.
Not least for this reason, profil is dedicating this week’s cover story to the topic and also the second episode of the new profil science podcast. The reverberations of the pandemic years are significant: Analyzes show that the population’s anger, annoyance and disappointment over – actual as well as alleged – misconduct during the crisis had a significant influence on the results of the most recent National Council election. Psychologists, in turn, warn of serious effects on children and young people. And science is delivering studies one after the other with sometimes astonishing and even irritating results and is doing what has been vehemently demanded: reviewing and taking stock of the measures taken to contain the pandemic.
Why vaccination does not provide long-term protection
To give just one example: recently a study appearedwhich investigated an interesting question: Why do the effects of vaccinations only last for a relatively short time? Why do we need constant refreshers? The researchers suspect a connection with certain immune cells that are linked to immune memory. People who were repeatedly vaccinated and those who caught infections apparently did not produce enough of the cells that contribute to the durability of vaccinations. The findings could now contribute to the development of improved vaccines.
International scientific groups have recently also delivered numerous papers that examine central questions in connection with dealing with the pandemic: How high was the excess mortality in which country? What influence did the measures taken have? What effect did the respective vaccination rates have?
What else lies dormant in the animal kingdom?
Answers to such questions are undoubtedly of utmost importance in order to perhaps be able to close what has obviously been a traumatic chapter for many people – as the elections also showed – on the basis of sober evidence. And also to be able to derive useful lessons for the future. Because, this much is certain: pandemics have repeatedly plagued our species, and at some point, hopefully in the distant future, a virus that lies dormant in the animal kingdom will find its way to humans again.
For now, above all, have a week that is as virus-free as possible.
