Professor Sparrow: The virus has changed, now people are getting infected faster

Although it was expected that with the arrival of winter the situation could worsen, according to A. Žvirblienė, the figures exceed all forecasts.

“During the summer, people relaxed a lot, it is difficult to return to the reality that the threat is there,” he says.

The professor points out that the data shows that the virus has changed slightly since spring.

“The virus has changed a bit and has acquired properties that allow it to infect more people. It enters human cells more easily, which means that it spreads faster,” explains the professor.

According to the professor, after the introduction of local quarantines, the effect should be expected after 2-3 weeks.

“After the introduction of the quarantine, there will be no miracles that the number of diseases begins to decrease immediately. Give it to God to stabilize it over time. This can take at least a couple of weeks. We should accept the fact that there will still be an increase. It would be very good if it stopped in two or three weeks, ”says A. Žvirblienė.

She cautions that family gatherings should be avoided late on the weekend. According to the professor, the greatest risk will be if the inhabitants of large cities, where the number of cases is greater, travel throughout Lithuania: Here is the greatest risk. The message would be very simple: we have to visit the dead that day, it should not become a family reunion. “

A. Žvirblienė cautions that even when meeting family members outdoors, the masks must also be worn and donned correctly. The teacher reminds that the mask must cover the nose, its layers are also important: the white layer – absorbent – retains the virus, must be at the bottom, the blue one repels the virus from the environment and must be on the outside.

“Nobody says that the mask will protect 100 percent. The point here is to stop as many viruses as possible. The less we have it, the more likely it is that we will not get sick or it will be easier to get sick,” emphasizes A. Žvirblienė.

A survey of the Lithuanian population commissioned by the BNS news agency shows that more than 42 percent. the public does not expect a coronavirus vaccine because they will not want to be vaccinated. Vilnius residents, people with higher incomes, people with higher education are more likely to get vaccinated. Professor A. Žvirblienė also says that she does not expect to be successful in vaccinating the majority of the population.

“I don’t think mass vaccination is possible, because there is a category of people who do not believe in vaccines and it would be naive to expect that they suddenly start to believe in this vaccine. Even more so because there are many questions. It will depend on the amount of information there is, ”says a professor at the VU Life Sciences Center in the Delfi Day program.

However, according to her, there is also good knowledge. A study of a coronavirus outbreak in Nemenčinė showed that after 6 months, people who were infected with the virus in the spring were still resistant to it.

“We were pleasantly surprised by the results. Half a year after the outbreak, we see that 95 percent. people still have antibodies. This means that they are resistant at least this season, ”says A. Žvirblienė.