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Christian Drosten is a virologist at the Charite University Hospital in Berlin. He became an important voice in Germany during the pandemic.
The connection with Angela Merkel
“The idea that I personally will constantly advise the Chancellor is pure legend. At the beginning of the pandemic, I once had a personal conversation with her. I was not and never am the only scientist politicians talk to. “
He explained that there are several levels in which politicians interact with scientists, including through official working groups with which there are constant discussions by videoconference.
When will the pandemic end?
The expert also affirms that the pandemic will end when a large part of the world’s population is vaccinated. And at best, this will happen, at the earliest, at the end of next year.
How did you become known to the world?
Drosten became known for constantly podcasting about the new coronavirus. The podcast has been available since February 26 on NDR TV and radio. After a pause, Drosten resumed the podcast, prompting German journalists to ask him if that meant the second wave of the pandemic had started.
“So all this talk about waves … We can only recognize a wave after it has happened. And it is not something inevitable, something that flows by itself. We are all the wave. It is exactly like a traffic jam, from which all drivers are part of it, “stressed Drosten.
“Of course, not everyone can always influence the whole. But if you are warned in advance that a traffic jam is forming 80 km away, you can now consider avoiding them. This is also our situation: we are seeing it increase again the number of infections in France, Spain and England; In addition, there are still young people who are less likely to become seriously ill, but hospitals and, in some cases, intensive care units are already full again. This must be taken seriously ”Explained the virologist.
What helped the Germans fight the pandemic?
In the interview, Christian Drosten speaks that both the practice of science and the discussions about it are important, stating that the Germans managed to observe how the virus works in the laboratory, not in intensive care units, as it happened in Italy. “This is why we had fewer deaths in Germany than in Italy.”
When asked what he is currently working on, the specialist replied that this fall it will be possible to quickly test Sars-CoV-2 on the street, literally.
“I would like the masks that now float in the puddles to be there at the end of autumn. In other words, they should be so widespread that they can help control the epidemic. It is true, not in every home, but in the hands of qualified personnel outside the hospitals ”, writes Antena3.
