Professor Ambrozaitis suggests forgetting the times when we did not wear masks: they will be necessary every year

Vilnius University infectious diseases professor Arvydas Ambrozaitis believes that such a low place was caused by various reasons and warns to prepare for the fact that the coronavirus will be seasonal, and masks will probably have to be worn not only this year, but also later.

– Professor, what led to the fact that, having dealt relatively well with the first wave of COVID-19, we are now in third place in terms of morbidity in the group of countries of the European Union, the European Economic Community and the United Kingdom ?

– Many determinate factors. The second wave hit many countries hard. But we were still too relaxed during the summer. It seemed to us that everything was over. We did not realize that the virus had not gone anywhere. The virus remained.

A significant number of people so far simply ignore the recommendations, do not follow those restrictions. It is sometimes said that human rights are restricted here, that the government cannot tell us whether or not to go to the Christmas tree celebration, to celebrate Christmas and Christmas together, or to visit the dead on Late Day, we will decide by ourselves.

There is no solidarity, there is no understanding that this is not a problem for the minister, not for the Government, not for the government, but for all our societies, even more so for all of Europe, for the whole world, and we all need to do some adjustments in our lives.

Lack of civic awareness, citizenship, no civil society. Some people just don’t want to accept this and realize that we must adjust our behavior and that we must accept the fact that we will not go back to the days when masks were no longer necessary. Masks and safety gear will now be needed every year, in the fall and winter, as has been the case in Japan and South Korea for a long time. We wondered how strange they were, walking around in masks: embarrassing for some, awkward for some. But you have to get used to it.

And, for example, Finns (it is clear that in general there is a certain character of them who like to be alone and keep their distance) do what is recommended. They trust their government, their government, because they elected it themselves.

We are more used to intimidation, insurance, fines. Then there is the motivation. Other motivations based on a deliberate decision and none.

See how medical masks are used now. Many people use them incorrectly – the nose is often uncovered.

– But the death rate compared to the incidence of the coronavirus in our country is still not as high as in some other countries.

– So far, mortality is not significantly high, although morbidity is high, since most of the virus circulated among young people in autumn. And young people belonged to that 80 percent who get sick easily or asymptomatically or heal without treatment. Your innate immune system is not yet weakened enough, it is not destroyed. And it is destroyed by age and comorbidities.

When the virus invaded nursing homes, long-term social care homes, that mortality could have increased because there are older people there. So far it is not that high, but it has also increased a bit. Now many more people have died.

– Could it be that our people are dying less because our immunity is better trained for seasonal colds, so the pandemic has hit us less painfully than, say, the Italians?

– No. Here’s a baseless myth. We have no resistance to the coronavirus. That is why there was a pandemic that we do not have resilience. This is a new virus that no one is resistant to.

We are simply more organized than Italians. This is also a national factor.

Italians like to be together, to ignore the demands, especially in the northern part of Italy, near Milan. At first, no one at the residence for the rich dared to order the elderly rich to take such precautions because they paid huge sums of money for care. In a word, there is a certain Italian character.

And the Nordics do better just because they are Nordic and the people are more disciplined, more civic.

– What does the latest data on COVID-19 show? Maybe there is some knowledge?

– Mutations are not significant yet. The vaccine should work well enough: two doses every 3 weeks. How long the immunity will last, we do not know, we will know when we vaccinate people.

There is no great news about the disease itself. Needless to say, it’s not the flu, it’s not. It is a much more serious illness than the flu, during which the lungs can be destroyed and a person dies of suffocation, without having an organ to breathe.

This disease is clearly dangerous for smokers. People who smoke nicotine damage vibrant epithelial lashes, which are necessary to clear viruses from the respiratory tract. So it is easier for them to get infected.

But, on the other hand, these tabs contain the angiotensin converting enzyme ACE2, which is a specific receptor for coronavirus binding. If this receptor, these tabs, is no longer present, the virus may no longer enter, there is no way for it to adhere to the cell.

However, if a smoker who does not have vibrant epithelial lashes becomes infected, they suffer from a much more serious illness.

– What is special about this coronavirus?

– This virus multiplies better if the temperature is low and the humidity is above 60%. Related to this is its seasonality. The sun’s rays also destroy this virus.

– Will this virus be seasonal?

– It seems to me that we can already say that it will be a seasonal virus, because the coronaviruses that used to be have always been seasonal. Coronaviruses are one of the viruses that cause colds.

This virus will remain and will not go away. You will have to live with him. But now it is important that people understand: it is your civic duty to get vaccinated. And if there are people who maliciously refuse to be vaccinated, they will not only put themselves at risk, but society as a whole.

We can be sure that 60-70% of people will get immunity by being sick or by being vaccinated.

Nobody wants to get sick, it is better to get vaccinated.

But in Lithuania, according to the Vilmorus survey, only 43 percent. 15% of people say they will agree to be vaccinated. I keep thinking, and everyone else is against it.

This raises the question again: what society do we live in, that people do not understand the significance of this pandemic and do not appreciate the possibility of vaccination, do not understand the added value of vaccination and think only of themselves that they will not vaccinate?

– Would vaccination lead to long-term immunity?

– We hope that the immunity is long-term, but we do not know, it is necessary to control it. The antibody titer should be checked.

In addition, we will see if people who get vaccinated will get sick or not and for how long they will not get sick. Then it will be clear whether you will have to get vaccinated every year as a flu shot or, for example, every three years. Until now, we don’t know because it is a new virus, a new vaccine.

– Various coronavirus drugs have been tested around the world. Is any medicine effective?

– Its use is very limited, its operation is too. For example, remdesivir only works in people who are in mild form. It shortens the spread time of the virus, but does not reduce mortality at all.

So far, the best drug is the immune plasma of relapsed patients, which is a cocktail of antibodies for relapsed people.

– Does immunity to coronavirus cause immunity? Or maybe you can get sick again?

– Theoretically, you can always get sick again, but it is unclear after how long and how severely. But so far, very few recurrences have been reported after a single illness, as immunity becomes stronger after illness than after vaccination.

A natural infection always forms a higher immunity, so it is unlikely that you will get sick a second time.

Even if the amount of antibodies decreases, there is still cellular immunity, that is, immune memory. Cells remember that virus. And if the virus enters, it gives the order to produce antibodies. This triggers a mechanism when the antibodies begin to neutralize the viral invasion. These options are also available.