Denmark seems to have defeated Covid-19, with a low infection rate. 75% of the population was vaccinated entirely and returned to normal after all restrictions were lifted this month.[1]

GOVERNMENT BIG DECISION

On September 10, after Covid-19 was no longer regarded as “a serious threat to society,” Denmark resumed its life before the pandemic (from the news).

Deutsche Welle: “Denmark has lifted all domestic epidemic restrictions, and this is the first EU member to do so. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3du0Ej32sHk

Hope to return to life before the pandemic

Deutsche Welle: How can Denmark recover to life before the pandemic through high vaccination rate /COVID-19 Special.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mXLeXToJ7c

I wish I had recovered my life before the COVID-19 outbreak, like in Denmark. I don’t need to wear a mask, and I don’t need to be afraid to guard against strangers. I wish I could breathe freely with a big mouth.

People attend a concert by Danish band The Minds of 99 in Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium, Denmark, on September 11 (Photo: Olafur Steinar Gestsson/ Reuters)

The Danish government thinks they have defeated the new crown. I want to find some answers, but I also doubt whether only the high vaccination rate can cope with the constantly mutating virus and new epidemic trend, so I also doubt “defeated.”

Therefore, I would like to start with the Danish experience to see behind the problem that the world has been fighting against the COVID-19 epidemic for almost two years and may coexist for a long time and to see what kind of mentality and behavior we need to face the global epidemic diseases that may change at any time.

WHAT DRIVES IT?

1. Low mortality rate.

There are 5.8 million people in Denmark, more than 80% of people over 12 years old have been vaccinated twice, and 96% of people over 65 years old have been vaccinated. The low mortality rate of COVID-19 in Denmark may also be one of the reasons for its bold cancellation of epidemic prevention measures. Up to 15:20 GMT, October 10, 2021, only 2,669 cases died of Covid-19 infection in Denmark, with a fatality rate of 0.7%.[2]

2. High vaccine uptake

According to Our World in Data, slightly more than 75% of the Danish population has been vaccinated, compared with 67% in Britain. About 77% of Danes had at least one stab, compared with 73% of Britons. [1]

According to the Hope Project’s latest report, Denmark has “by far the highest degree of vaccination willingness,” with 96 percent of Danes surveyed saying they are either vaccinated or want to receive a Covid vaccine.

Denmark’s behavior

It may be “vaccine delay” rather than “vaccine hesitancy” that is slowing down uptake, giving the example of how young people in Denmark did not feel a sense of urgency to get vaccinated because they were low down on the priority list.

“Denmark realized this in early summer,” he said. “Therefore, Denmark quickly launched a campaign for young people and set up pop-up vaccine centers in schools and universities.“[1]

3. Preventive measures before Denmark: Too harsh and severe, it may not last long.

The following figure is the Containment and Health Index compiled by Oxford University, which measures the control efforts in the following 13 aspects[3]

School closures; workplace closures; cancellation of public events; restrictions on public gatherings

closures of public transport; Stay-at-home requirements; public information campaigns

restrictions on internal movements;international travel controls; testing policy;

The extent of contact tracing.;requirements to wear face covering;policies around vaccine rollout

The higher the total score, the stricter the management and control, and the lower the score, the looser the management and control.

Compare the scores of epidemic control in Britain, New Zealand and Denmark.

• Britain seems to be the place with the strictest long-term control;
• Denmark, long-term control is slightly looser than Britain;
• In contrast, New Zealand, which hopes to clear the epidemic situation, is actually in an open state most of the time (only when community transmission occurs, the control level is temporarily raised, and then the control is lifted immediately).

To be honest, the high-intensity control lasted for more than half a year, which really affected Denmark’s life. So taking advantage of the fact that the antibody level freshly released after vaccination has not retreated, the epidemic fluctuation is just in the short gap of the trough. Just hurriedly cancel the control and breathe a sigh of relief, which is also a helpless thing.

HOW RESOLVE IT?

1. communication

Danish public was better able to understand communication about Covid variants and adapted their behavior accordingly.

“If in the future there will be new, more contagious Covid variants, there is thus good reason to believe that the population again will be responsive and adapt their behavior accordingly,” the Hope Project report said.

“Because of low rates (of infection) in Denmark, freedom day, as it were, came from a much more of a solid basis,” Dr Williams added.[1]

2. Some research and measures to deal with variation

I just learned that delta alone has many varieties. Each variety will bring many global challenges.

Take the Delta-AY30 variety recently discovered in Denmark as an example.
Big damage——it has super antigen characteristics, which will damage the immune system and stay in the body for a long time; At the same time, it will cause chronic burden on respiratory system/reproductive system/cardiovascular system, and also lead to neurodegenerative diseases.[4]

Fast change——adaptive mutation rate is four times higher than influenza.

It is difficult to identify and prescribe the right medicine, and it is also very difficult to develop vaccines-there are only 9 effective epitopes on spike protein.

In fact, “we live in a time when the incubation period of every known human pathogen is longer than the longest intercontinental flight” -Ashish Jha, Director of the Harvard Global Health Institute. We are living in a remarkable period to recognize the importance of infectious diseases and our ability to control these diseases. Though countries have experienced the negative impact of COVID-19 differently, no country has been immune to its impact.[1]

On the one hand, I think to avoid the entry and active research of delta variants such as ay.24 in Israel. Now Denmark has found a new super variant delta variant of ay.30, so I don’t think it’s a victory over the new crown, but a short respite under a high vaccination rate and substantial control. I think this is a typical war between the individual immune system and the human group. On the one hand, I hope that the human body can produce corresponding antibodies and immune factors; on the other hand, I also hope that scientific development-some other research and methods can prescribe the right medicine.

Reference

[1] iNews: How Denmark beat Covid and lifted all restrictions, and the lessons the UK can learn;

Available at__https://inews.co.uk/news/world/covid-denmark-beat-coronavirus-lifted-restrictions-lessons-for-uk-explained-1223157

[2]Denmark COVID everyday updated__Available at: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/denmark/

[3]the Containment and Health Index compiled by Oxford University__Available at:  https://github.com/OxCGRT/covid-policy-tracker/blob/master/documentation/index_methodology.md

[4]Hospitalization associated with SARS-CoV-2 delta variant in Denmark;  Published: September 03, 2021DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00580-6

How Denmark beat Covid and the lessons world can learn / Shi Qian Pan / Global Health Challenges: An Introduction (2021-2022)[SEM1] 2 by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0