Corona Czar Professor Salman Zarqa on Thursday told Reshet Bet radio that announcing a sixth wave of the coronavirus will probably only be done in retrospect. “After five waves, the public knows how to defend against infection,” he said, and suggested that “you don’t have to turn everything into a regulation.”
“Every person should evaluate the risk for himself,” Zarqa added. “If he is a more mature person, or has a background illness, then, of course, I would use a mask in enclosed spaces. For now, we leave it to the discretion of the people.”
We have lived in the past two years using the terms mandatory or not-mandatory, but we need to move on to a different habit,” the Corona Czar said.
Health Ministry Director-General Prof. Nachman Ash said on Thursday that his ministry does not currently intend to require the wearing of masks in enclosed spaces, nor does it support a fifth vaccine for at-risk populations.
On Wednesday, the health ministry’s Epidemiologic team recommended wearing masks indoors, especially in crowds. They also urged at-risk Israelis to complete their fourth vaccination, and allow children over age 5 to receive the booster shot. Finally: anyone employed by the healthcare system in Israel must receive at least 2 vaccinations plus a booster shot.
The current Corona figures in Israel (we haven’t done this in a while): As of midnight, June 9, there are 22,475 active Corona patients; 93 are in serious condition, 29 critical, one on ECMO, and 24 are on respirators. To date, 10,867 have died of the Corona in Israel, and the infection coefficient is rather alarming: 1.28 (normal is 1 and below).
Two new omicron subvariants, known as BA.4 and BA.5, are spreading from South Africa to the US, Europe, and Israel. The two strains are among several new subvariants of the omicron variant of COVID-19. According to the CDC, BA.4 is making up 5.4% of COVID cases in the US and BA.5 7.6%. They are even more contagious than the previous variants but wait, there’s even more: scientists are starting to believe that the mutated BA.4 and BA.5 may be able to evade some acquired immunity and cause reinfections.
Dr. Wesley Long, a pathologist at Houston Methodist in Texas, told Chicago’s NBC Channel 5 that the genetic composition of one of the earliest variants, the “delta mutation,” may allow the BA.2.12.1 subvariant “to escape pre-existing immunity from vaccination and prior infection, especially if you were infected in the omicron wave.”
Will the coronavirus stop generating new variants any time soon? Judging by the behavior of flu viruses, the answer may be, never. In other words, if you bet the farm on Pfizer or Moderna shares, don’t cash them in just yet. They may be the new “blue chip” stocks.
