Infectious diseases expert says COVID is on its way to becoming like the common cold
Infectious diseases expert says COVID is on its way to becoming like the common cold
2023-01-05
Taiwan recorded 31,078 local COVID infections on Thursday, surpassing 30,000 infections for the first time this year. Infectious disease expert Lee Ping-ing says the main factors for the rise are the colder winter weather as well as the rise of new subvariants. Lee says the severity of COVID is only set to weaken in the future, and could end up becoming like the common cold. He says if that’s the case, there won’t be a need to get vaccinated once a year.
A new COVID wave is swelling in Taiwan, with local cases surpassing 30,000 infections on Thursday. Infectious disease expert Lee Ping-ing, says one of the main reasons for the surge is low winter temperatures.
Lee Ping-ing
NTU Children’s Hospital
The infection tally’s rise is being fueled by two factors. One of them is the emergence of variants. The other is the cold weather. During cold weather, all viral respiratory diseases have higher incidence rates. These viruses have a higher transmissibility in cold weather.
Already, Taiwan has detected its first cases of the BQ.1 COVID subvariant, which had been on the rise in Europe and the U.S. A health expert says more variants may arrive after China removes quarantines for international arrivals starting Sunday.
Hung Tzu-jen
National Yang Ming Jiao Tung University
We need to be more vigilant, because over in Mainland China, there is going to be millions of infections in a very short period of time. That allows the virus to mutate rapidly. It could be the case that a new virulent strain could emerge. Of course, that’s something we should all keep an eye out for.
Many experts say that the mortality and virulence of COVID will become less severe as the virus mutates. Some say COVID is on its way to become like the seasonal flu. A local doctor says it’s more apt to say the disease is becoming more like a cold.
Lee Ping-ing
NTU Children’s Hospital
After the Omicron variant emerged, the disease’s severity did not worsen. It’s different from the flu in that its mortality and virulence have continued going down. So its characteristics make it more like the cold. If every year, most COVID infections result in mild symptoms mostly, then there won’t be a need to get vaccinated every year. If it becomes like the common cold, then annual vaccination won’t be necessary.
The doctor still advises older adults and people with weakened immunity to get vaccinated with a next-gen shot before the Lunar New Year break.
本土疫情持續加溫 李秉穎:未來往"感冒化"邁進
2023-01-05
本土疫情迎來新一波威脅，單日確診數再破三萬，今天新增31078例，台灣還面臨境外案例暴增，內外夾擊，要格外小心！感染科權威李秉穎分析原因，主要跟入冬低溫有關，認為未來不是"流感化"，應該會往"感冒化"邁進，還說未來如果重症死亡比例持續下探，不一定每年都要打COVID-19疫苗。
本土疫情迎來新一波威脅，單日確診數再破三萬例，感染科權威李秉穎認為，主要還是跟入冬低溫有關。
[[台大兒醫小兒感染科醫師 李秉穎]]
“(本土)病例數升高，大概有兩個最主要的因素，一個是變異株突變的出現，另外一個因素是天氣變冷了，因為在天氣變冷的這段時間，幾乎所有的呼吸道病毒的發生率都會提高，因為這些病毒的傳播，在冷天氣裡面，傳播力會比較強一點”
如今來自歐美的BQ.1入侵社區，加上中國1/8恢復中國公民出境旅遊，雙重夾擊下，專家示警仍得嚴防監測，就怕新型變異株出沒。
[[陽明交大醫管所兼任副教授 洪子仁]]
“(需要)比較注意的是說，因為中國大陸地區，在這麼短的時間內，幾億人的快速確診的情況之下，產生的變異速度會很快，因此會不會產生一個，我們過去所沒有看到的這個新的大魔王變異株的出現，當然這是值得我們大家共同來關心的”
雖然醫界普遍認為，COVID-19致死率和致病力，經過演化會逐步降低，朝向"流感化"發展，但李秉穎覺得，應該是往"感冒化"邁進。
[[台大兒醫小兒感染科醫師 李秉穎]]
“Omicron變異株出現以後，它的重症並沒有增加，它跟流感不一樣，它的重症死亡是持續地下降，所以它的生物特性可能會比較像感冒一樣，(如果COVID-19)每年都是輕症為主的一個感染的話，那就不一定要每年就打(疫苗) ，也就是說它是感冒化了，就不一定每年都需要打新冠疫苗”
醫師強調，長者和免疫力低下等高風險族群，還是要盡快接種次世代疫苗，把握春節前兩週的黃金時機。
Related News
