Bidzina Kulumbegov: The real, second wave of the coronavirus is expected in the spring

According to immunologist-allergist Bidzina Kulumbegov, the real, second wave of the coronavirus is expected in the spring.

He summed up 2020 in the light of the challenges in the healthcare sector in his interview with InterPressNews and noted that the population should be careful about the epidemic.

Bidzina Kulumbegov believes that it is important to increase the number of ambulance crews, conduct more tests and strengthen the institution of primary health care and family doctor.

"Actually, we’ve now had the first wave. This is what America and European countries experienced in the spring.

For me, as a doctor, this was not a surprise. We should be realistic, a vaccine has been created in the world, but we will not be able to vaccinate even 80-90 percent of the population until 2022. At best, we may hope that we will vaccinate 20% of the population in 2021. Therefore, we must be very careful. At some point the number of infected people will decrease, then people will relax again. Therefore, we will have the real second wave, and for some the third wave, in the spring”, he said.

In addition, according to him, the current epidemiological situation does not require additional regulations. Kulumbegov called the reports on full lockdown "manipulation of people's emotions."

“The state does not need more restrictive measures. It is important for us to follow the existing restrictions correctly. Wearing a mask should be 95%. This is an unequivocal requirement if we want to avoid damaging our economy as much as possible. The World Health Organization explains very interestingly - health is the physical, spiritual and social well-being of a person. Therefore, any of the three is missing, the person is not healthy," Kulumbegov said.