The position of scientists and doctors awaiting the control room on 23 December
Waiting for the control room on 23 December, the debate on the hypothesis of new measures to counter the new Covid wave and deal with the Omicron variant is ignited in Italy. Spotlights on the hypothesis of swabs for vaccinated people in crowded places and big events and on the duration of the Green pass. But some experts are also calling for mandatory vaccination and a lockdown for no vaxes.
“We have to worry, preparing for scenarios in consideration of what will happen” at Christmas, “between parties, kisses and hugs, carelessness, risk habits” warns the virologist Fabrizio Pregliasco, medical director of Irccs Galeazzi in Milan, spoke at ‘L’Italia s’è awakened’ on Radio Cusano Campus. “This leads to a wave that we must foresee and we must do it with a timing that allows us to act before the oxen flee the stables. It will not be easy because the decisions that will have to be made may be a bit unpleasant, especially for the effects. that they may have on the New Year. I don’t think we will be able to reset, but to mitigate, to crush the curve, to ensure that it is not a peak, but a hill, which at least foresees a staggered arrival of cases in hospitals “.
“In these days I hear the most disparate theses, such as putting the mandatory tampons to go to the stadium even for those who have received three doses of the vaccine. They are all cosmetic measures” he says. Matteo Bassetti, head of infectious diseases at the San Martino hospital in Genoa, spoke at ‘Rotocalco 264’ on Cusano Italia Tv. “The only measure that should be taken urgently would be to make the vaccine mandatory, taking advantage of these two weeks of closure of the schools to vaccinate those who are not yet vaccinated. After that, everyone should be given the opportunity to vaccinate themselves in open structures without a reservation and say that from 10 January those who are not vaccinated will pay a fine “.
And at Adnkronos Salute he warns: “There is a much more harmful virus around than Omicron, that of the panic that has attacked many colleagues, journalists and laymen. Terrorism and catastrophism are a danger, like panic, because they can lead to bad decisions. I hope Draghi keeps the bar straight on Thursday. “
For the vaccination obligation also Massimo Andreoni, head of infectious disease at the Tor Vergata Polyclinic in Rome and scientific director of the Italian Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases (Simit). “What is happening in other European countries is very alarming and the feeling is that this variant is frightening – he says to Adnkronos Salute – The Imperial College of London has confirmed that the Omicron variant raises several questions and further clarifications are needed. as Minister Speranza reiterated, great attention, but I believe that we must also anticipate the impact of Omicron on hospitals. So the time has come to move from advice and recommendations to obligations, starting with the vaccination one that I supported from the beginning of the pandemic “.
On the various hypotheses of measures that the government could evaluate in the control room scheduled for Thursday, “many of those circulating in the press can have an impact, we are about to enter a critical moment that will see families reunite and there will be greater circulation of people. – Andreoni warns – therefore inevitably there will be a situation of greater risk of contagion. Many measures, such as the vaccination obligation itself, must be taken by politics but it seems clear to me that now obligations must also be highlighted, for example at Christmas think about a maximum of 6 people at the table and preferably all vaccinated with the third dose; bring the mask outdoors and absolutely avoid crowding situations “.
“I am for the vaccination obligation” against Covid-19, even more so in this phase of the emergency, with the Omicron variant running and the Christmas holidays that will multiply the chances of contagion. She remains firm on the idea that it is necessary to make anti-Covid immunization mandatory Maria Rita Gismondo, director of the laboratory of clinical microbiology, virology and diagnostics of bioemergencies at the Sacco hospital in Milan. “I think – he declares to Adnkronos Salute – of a vaccination obligation that should apply from 40 years upwards and for the frail of every age group”.
For Massimo Galli, former director of Infectious diseases at the Sacco hospital in Milan, “if things continue to go as they are going, with the worsening of the pandemic data, it would be worth considering the decision, which other countries are already taking, of a lockdown for non vaccinated “. “It is an option that must be considered – he tells Adnkronos Salute -” And this should also serve as an incentive to vaccinate diehards, or at least those who are diehards out of fear or ignorance. Not those who are ideological because, in this case, they do not move from their point of view “.
As for the green certification, “it may be worthwhile to review the duration of the Green pass, for a prospective reduction to 6 months. But at the same time it is necessary to observe what will happen in the next few weeks with the Omicron variant. The data will clarify the ideas a lot. in this regard, also in terms of the measures to be taken. A possible reduction in the duration of the green certificate is in any case an idea that has its own logic, also to speed up vaccination “.
The virologist Guido Silvestri, a professor at Emory University in Atlanta, observes that “Covid for fully vaccinated people has a lethality now similar if not lower than that of the flu, while the constant media panic and the continuing threat of new restrictions – moreover in a situation in to which we have a sixth of the deaths and a quarter of those hospitalized in intensive care compared to last year these days – it is doing enormous damage both on a socio-economic and psychological level “.
“We strongly push for the vaccination of the 5-11 years old, which I highly recommend – says Silvestri – and we accelerate with the third doses of vaccine (the so-called ‘booster’), patiently and calmly explaining to the population why vaccines are our atomic against the virus. Paxlovid), and we do everything possible to increase the capacity and operation of the hospital system, quickly and without skimping on resources “.
Source-www.adnkronos.com