WHO: Fears about respiratory infections in China appear overblown (statnews.com)
The evidence presented to the WHO team pointed to what’s sometimes called an immunity gap that was created by the pandemic. A dramatic reduction in circulation of other viruses and bacteria created a cohort of kids with few immunological defenses against bugs like influenza, RSV, and other cold-causing viruses, setting the stage for large outbreaks when those pathogens returned.
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And you think the immunity gap explanation is plausible?
Yes, that immunity gap opening up and new detection methods to be able to capture the incidence of these types of pathogens around the country. This is not an indication of a novel pathogen. This is expected. This is what most countries dealt with a year or two ago.
We asked about comparisons prior to the pandemic. And the waves that they’re seeing now, the peak is not as high as what they saw in 2018-2019.
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Covid has really dropped down the news priority list, and people are so tired of it. But how do you feel about where we are with Covid right now?
We’re in a much better place. I think the population level immunity is holding up fairly well because of whatever vaccination took place, plus infection over time. The concern I have is in the complete unwillingness to talk about Covid and its risk at an individual level, and really among the most at-risk people.
