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John Slavik put it that way there is a huge epidemic that does not subside, and the number of infections and deaths is also increasing in Hungary.
The specialist discussed at the IME health magazine conference that the coronavirus is also more dangerous compared to influenza. Presenting data from the United States, he said, there are 30 to 40 million deaths from flu each year, 30 to 40,000 deaths, while the coronavirus has already been contracted by 6 to 8 million Americans and more than 200,000 have already died. due to virus complications.
Mortality has not been higher in Hungary in recent months than in the years before the coronavirus, but this is not true for all countries, the expert said, citing England, Spain, Italy and France as examples. “It is clear that the coronavirus is responsible for the increase in mortality,” he said.
János Slavik said about the tests, In Hungary, 6 to 12 thousand tests are performed every day, and an increasing number of positive cases are detected in them.. The number of samples is much higher than in the spring and more and more techniques are being tried to find positive cases, he added.
The most reliable of these is the PCR test, which, however, requires special equipment, experience, and adequate laboratory experience. Recently used so-called rapid antigen-based tests to detect the virus are also accepted, showing positivity after a quarter of an hour, he said.
He stressed that wearing a mask is one of the basic tools for protection, yet masks need not be mystified. There is not much difference between them in terms of effectiveness, since while a simple mask provides 95 percent protection, surgical masks 95-98 and special masks ffp2, ffp3 provide 99 percent protection, said the infectologist. .
On the street, in everyday life, the simplest masks also provide protection, however Another important element of defense is distance..
If we follow these two, the chances of getting infected are almost nil, “he said.
János Slavik also spoke about the fact that the coronavirus not only attacks the lungs, it can infect all organs after the initial phase, causing heart, liver and kidney failure, among others. This shows the danger of the virus.
Between 10 and 20 percent of those infected need intensive care and 30 percent of them die, he said.
The specialist pointed out that it is difficult to distinguish influenza from coronavirus infection at the beginning of the initial symptoms. He called it an exciting observation that Brazilians who received the flu vaccine had a milder course of coronavirus infection.
As for coronavirus vaccines, the expert said, there are already several vaccines registered in Russia and China that are used to vaccinate tens of thousands of people and are proving to be effective.
Added: There are two hundred candidate vaccines in a so-called preclinical study, ten of which are in phase 3, that is, when many people are already being examined in epidemic conditions. Two or three vaccines have already been registered.
According to János Slavik, these vaccines will be available in the early and middle of next year.
Probably the first to be vaccinated are in the health and social care sector, those who work in critical infrastructure, the elderly, the chronic patient, he said.
However, vaccination is still a long way off, he added, as 80 to 95 percent of people would need to be vaccinated for the virus to disappear.
And to avoid larger epidemics, a 50 to 60 percent vaccine would be needed. “We are still a long way from that,” said János Slavik.
Cover image: MTI Photo / Attila Kovács
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