SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 29 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Research Professor of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC9, Luis Enjuanes, has asked this Monday for more calm with the irruption of the ‘omicron’ variant of the coronavirus because “very little” is still known.
In statements to journalists before intervening in ‘CampusÁrica’, he pointed out that the first information is “hasty” because it is a variant that was not known, perhaps because it had not been sought, and perhaps “it is disseminated throughout the world.”
For this reason, he has demanded that more vaccines be distributed in the third world, in the case of Africa, India, South America or Southeast Asia so that their citizens “are more protected” and no new variants arise.
He pointed out that “the pathology that it causes is not known either” or how well it spreads, although with the first signs it is seen that it “far exceeds” the ‘delta plus’ variant and also that in many cases it is symptom-free.
According to Enjuanes, “it is the best we can hear, not only do they not die but they are vaccinated.”
He has commented that up to seven human viruses are known of which four are attenuated and he sees “normal” for the remaining three to lose potency over time, in the case of the flu, which, although it kills many millions of people a year, also counts already with basic immunity.
“I have been working with coronavirus for 35 years and the normal thing is that when they jump from species they learn to spread very quickly but their pathology diminishes, it is a grip that I take, I hope it is attenuated with so many mutations,” he said.
Enjuanes has also criticized the shielding of the countries from which the new variant has emerged and sees positive, at least, that it goes to “help” them to be given vaccines to protect their population as there are sufficient world reserves.
SPANISH VACCINE: “WORK GOES GOOD BUT SLOW”
He has commented that the new wave of the pandemic will be more “flat” in Spain and not like the previous ones, thanks to the high degree of vaccination of the population since its dispensation has already been approved in those under 12 years of age, which can be reach 94% of the population. “They are fantastic numbers”, has commented.
Regarding the Spanish vaccine against SARS-CoV2, he commented that “the work is going well but slowly”, as it is “quite promising but complex” since it requires more controls and optimization of various things.
He pointed out that his team has already made a vaccine for the 2012 MERS which “was potentially one of the ten most dangerous viruses in the world” because it kills one in three infected, which “would have been an absolute disaster”, but it has the advantage that “it is transmitted from camel to man and that is why it spreads a little.”
Enjuanes has commented that “good protection principles” have been obtained for SARS-CoV 2 “but now it is necessary to continue adapting it to the new variants.”
