In large Russian cities, there has probably been an increase in the incidence of COVID-19. He spoke on the radio with such a statement on Sunday, May 8th. Sputnik General Manager of the Clinical Excellence Group, immunologist Nikolay Kryuchkov.
According to the candidate of medical sciences, the latest statistics on the death rate and the number of hospitalizations indicate the likelihood of a new coronavirus outbreak in Russia. “In the next two months, it is quite possible that there will be an increase in the incidence of COVID-19 in May and June.
Most likely, the first surge is taking place in major Russian cities at this time.
Of course, the new wave cannot be compared in any way with “delta” or “omicron”. Nevertheless, we are seeing indirect signs of a new wave in the change in the dynamics of death and the number of hospitalizations, ”explained Kryuchkov.
At the same time, he noted that a new wave of morbidity may go unnoticed, as not all infected people pass PCR testing. “There will be an increase in incidence in May and the first summer months, but we may not even see it. This wave will not go unnoticed due to the small coverage of Russian residents by PCR testing.
Another thing is that a much larger wave can form in the fall.
Here we will definitely notice this, because there may appear new lines of coronavirus infection, ”says the immunologist.
“To lift restrictions early”
Kryuchkov associated the current low increase in incidence with the removal of restrictive measures and a decrease in the level of vaccination. “There is now a hidden wave of COVID. These are not the same waves as “micron”, “delta”. There is no such thing and we would see them. But you know there are waves in the water, not like a tsunami, just waves. We have roughly the same situation. We are already seeing big cities and as I thought it started in the second half of April. But May will pass, and by June everything can calm down again, ”said he. ura.ru.
“These are natural fluctuations. When we say we are not vaccinated, removing the precautions creates conditions where it is much easier for infections to spread.
The infection does not behave in a way that stabilizes and for months everything is the same. This won’t happen. Indicators are changing due to various factors,” he said. The immunologist believes it is too early to cancel all coronavirus restrictions in Russia. “The only option that comes to mind is mass vaccination of risk groups.
And stop spreading messages in the media that this is a common ARVI, that it’s all over, that no measures are needed.
Masks should be returned, at least in public places. Definitely in transit. There is nothing wrong here,” he concluded.
Vaccination and infection rates
As of May 6, 2022, Russia ranks 103rd in the world in vaccinating the population against coronavirus. This figure is 50.14% (according to the website stopcoronavirus.rfJohns Hopkins University and Our World in Data project).
As the federal operations center reported on May 7, 5,500 infected people were identified in the country the previous day, bringing the number of hospitalizations to 2,562. 132 people died. Conditional death rate remained at 2.07% TASS.
Since the start of the pandemic, approximately 517.1 million coronavirus infections and approximately 6.25 million deaths have been recorded worldwide. In Russia, according to the federal infection control center, 18,222,219 cases of infection were recorded, 376,828 people died.