The fourth wave of COVID-19 in Mexico will be from January to March, so measures must be taken to avoid more cases, experts considered in the daily COVID-19 talk.

This virtual session, moderated by Dr. Guillermo Torre, rector of TecSalud, was attended by doctors Francisco Moreno; and Alejandro Macias.

The experts stressed that people with respiratory symptoms should be isolated for 10 days, since a common flu cannot be distinguished from COVID-19.

In addition, they recommended the use of better masks, such as the N95 or KN95, as they provide greater protection.

The specialists estimated that the Ómicron variant enters with force in Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara, although with mild cases.

The fourth wave has already started in Mexico, but it will not be the same throughout the country

Dr. Macías estimated that the Ómicron peak will last 3 months, but it will not occur uniformly throughout the country.

"The Omicron variant is going to come in because it is going to come in, whatever we do, because it is a very contagious variant, which resembles measles in its infection rate," he said.

Given this, he added, local decisions must be made so as not to close the country for the same time, as well as consider suspending face-to-face classes for a couple of weeks, depending on the cases in each area.

Health specialists agreed that they have seen a significant increase in cases in recent weeks, in what appears to be due to the Omicron variant, but also due to the Delta variant.

"(I am) surprised by the enormous number of new cases. Most of them are mild, but there are many reinfections and in vaccinated people," said Dr. Moreno.

"But there have also been cases where patients lose their smell and taste, which is probably still the Delta variant. There must be a combination and that is important for isolation measures," he added.

Dr. Moreno said it is not known how obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure will interact with Omicron; In addition, he said that more infections have occurred in children, especially those with a history of asthma.

“If we take care of ourselves, we will make this escalation of cases not so pronounced. To say that nothing is happening because there are no hospitalizations is a mistake. I am worried that this will coincide with the new year,” he said.

You can't tell the difference between a common flu and COVID

Dr. Macías said that it is practically impossible to differentiate first-hand if the symptoms of a case correspond to a common flu or COVID-19, and in turn, if it is the Delta or Omicron variant.

The three specialists agreed that when faced with respiratory symptoms, what should be done is to isolate oneself to avoid COVID infections, or other infections such as influenza or another different disease.

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"The message is: if you have respiratory symptoms that look like an allergy, even if you've been vaccinated, get a test, preferably a PCR or antigen test, and isolate yourself," said Dr. Macías.

"If you have a flu picture, do not trust your negative antigen test if you are going out to dinner and your grandparents are big or if the person you are going to live with has risk factors," advised Dr. Moreno.

He tries to use better masks

Dr. Macías recommended that KN95 or N95 masks should now be preferred over cloth face masks, since the former offer a greater degree of protection.

He added that, as part of the new normality, in closed spaces there should be cleaner air, backed by CO2 meters, which guarantee that the place is ventilated.

"We're going to have to accept that a lot of these diseases are airborne. We have to give everyone clean air to breathe, particularly indoors."

Similarly, they stressed continuing with the measure of being vaccinated, keeping a healthy distance and washing hands.

Isolation is important if you have symptoms

Regarding the measure of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to cut isolation in asymptomatic cases from 10 to 5 days, Dr. Moreno said that it is important to ask yourself who you are going to live with.

"Be careful about breaking isolation if someone close to you is vulnerable; if someone is vulnerable, follow the 10-day recommendation, because you're going to put them at risk," he said.

Dr. Macías believed that this measure was adopted to speed up the return of workers who have paralyzed industries in the United States due to staff shortages.

He gave as an example the cases of health workers or airlines in the United States who have become ill, causing saturation in hospitals or the cancellation of flights.

"This measure stems from the desperation of unions in the United States, and I think it will not be different in the future in Mexico," he said.

Experts estimate that it could be the last complicated phase

The experts agreed that this phase of the pandemic could be the last, since COVID is expected to become a catarrhal disease, with which it will be necessary to learn to coexist in the coming years.

"Ómicron is an indicator that COVID is going to become a catarrhal disease," said Dr. Macías.

The experts assured that the advantage of these infections growing rapidly is that they would also have rapid immunity, which even exceeds vaccination.

However, Dr. Torre pointed out that despite the fact that Ómicron is reported to cause a mild illness, he does not recommend getting it to gain immunity, given the risk of sequelae in "Long COVID".

According to preliminary studies, the Omicron variant, detected in South Africa in November 2021, spreads more easily than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, causing mild disease in most cases.

On November 26, 2021, it was declared by the World Health Organization as a variant of concern.

See the conversation of December 29, 2021 here:

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