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‘Mind says 2022, heart wants 2021’ — US health expert on when Covid pandemic could end

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‘Mind says 2022, heart wants 2021’ — US health expert on when Covid pandemic could end

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US health expert Dr Faheem Younus has been busting myths and offering advice on the Covid-19 pandemic | Image: Twitter | ThePrint Team
US health expert Dr Faheem Younus has been busting myths and offering advice on the Covid-19 pandemic | Image: Twitter | ThePrint Team

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New Delhi: Dr Faheem Younus, a leading US health expert and chief of infectious diseases at the University of Maryland’s Upper Chesapeake Health, took to Twitter to talk about the Covid-19 pandemic and when it will end.

In a thread, Younus said people should be extremely cautious until April 2021, but added nobody knows for sure when the pandemic will end.

‘Cross immunity’ refers to the immune system developing antibodies against viruses with antigens or proteins similar to the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. Such antibodies ‘recognise’ antigens on the virus and launch an attack, even in people who have not been exposed to the virus before. ‘Actual infections’ means people who have recovered from Covid-19.

All of this could lead to achieving herd immunity faster than expected, Younus noted. “Outbreak slows down, virus dies,” he said.

But in the next tweet, Younus also listed out why the pandemic could continue until 2022.

Younus draws the conclusion that the “mind says” the pandemic will end in 2022, while the “heart wants” 2021. He ended the thread on “cautious optimism”.


Also read: Why some countries don’t want to wait for Covid vaccines from superpowers


Who is Dr Faheem Younus?

Younus is an award-winning infectious diseases specialist who has been in service for over two decades. He has been busting Covid-related myths since its outbreak, such as the one that the virus will go away in the higher temperatures of summer.

In 2008, the Barack Obama administration conferred Dr Younus with the ‘Presidential Service Award’ for his humanitarian services and volunteerism. He has been the recipient of the ‘Top Doc’ award given annually by the Baltimore magazine two years in a row (2017, 2018).

Faheem Younus often takes to Twitter to address concerns regarding the disease, provides solutions, and tackles overhyped Covid solutions.

For this, he has earned praise from netizens.

Younus has also educated the Twitterverse about the kind of Covid tests for different categories of patients, symptomatic and asymptomatic.

However, some of Younus’ myth-busting has also later come under question because of new observations about Covid-19.

For example, he had tweeted that Covid-19 is only airborne “under limited conditions”.

But other public health and infectious disease experts have asked WHO to revise guidelines after increased evidence of aerosol transmission, and have encouraged authorities to not underplay its seriousness.


Also read: Disturbed sleep, brain fog, nerve pain can torment recovered Covid patients for months


 

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