Professor Baltov revealed whether there will be a relaxation of measures against COVID-19 – Diseases soon

The director of “Pirogov” Prof. Asen Baltov commented to “Watch” the second serious peak of COVID-19, the gaps in the measures and vaccines that will mark the beginning of the end of the pandemic.

– Prof. Baltov, the long-awaited vaccination has begun in our country. Is the beginning of the end of the pandemic visible?

– I really hope that with the start of vaccination there will be more and more people in our country. Only in this way can we achieve the much desired collective immunity that allows us to live in freedom.

NIGHT and the National Vaccination Headquarters will provide a briefing on COVID-19

– Many Bulgarians have once again expressed mistrust, this time regarding the efficacy and quality of the vaccines themselves. However, after many doctors set a personal example by immunizing themselves, are there more willing people, even among doctors?

– My observations show that those who really want to get vaccinated are increasing, especially after they realized that there will be a second and third installment of vaccines literally in the coming months. The percentage of applicants already exceeds 60.

– And when can the immunization process itself have an effect on the pandemic as a whole? When can we expect a reduction in cases?

– In my opinion, at least until the end of May and the beginning of June we cannot expect a sharp decrease in the number of infected people. However, so far it is estimated that around 1/8 of the population has encountered the coronavirus, but the other part has not been affected.

– You personally also got vaccinated, did you have any side effects after vaccination?

– I do not feel well. I have no redness at the site after the vaccine or fever. I have not had any problems in the last 48 hours.

– Is there still a need for greater awareness among people about the vaccines themselves, their action?

– Yes, there is a great need. And I’ll tell you why. First of all, they are not doctors, they have no medical education, and therefore it is correct, if they have relatives, explain to them the effect of vaccines, how they work, only then will they make an informed decision.

– With so much mistrust, however, we often come across even flu vaccines. Why does the Bulgarian always seem to live in a conspiracy theory? We have heard all kinds of hypotheses about the appearance of the virus itself.

– It is that people are not familiar, do not have the necessary knowledge in this field. A better general culture is needed about what a vaccine is, an antibody. In most cases, people are not interested in this and think that they do not need to have knowledge in this area.

The number of infected is expected to decrease by the summer of 2021.

The anti-wax wave seemed to have subsided, but only for a moment. What you think?

– The anti-vaccination movement managed to develop quite quickly thanks to the fact that the European Medicines Agency did not allow to talk about any of the vaccines for a long time, because they were not approved. This helped the anti-vaccination movements to be more aggressive, importing conspiratorial information. Last but not least, I believe there is unfair competition between the companies themselves, the vaccine manufacturers. Most likely, because some results have slowed down and are not yet on the market. Now the others are making additional sales, which would not be the case if more companies were vaccinated.

– What are the biggest questions about vaccines, after all?

– The most important question is related to how long the immunity will be after vaccination and how long we can trust this vaccine. I hope it works for at least a year. However, it should take time to use it to get feedback. This also applies to the Chinese vaccine, which began to be administered to its soldiers in July, but it does not take a year and the result cannot be analyzed.

– In fact, he got immunized, even though he has antibodies after COVID-19. Why did you decide that?

– Because there are several types of antibodies. And the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech allows the production of so-called. neutralize antibodies against a protein that prevents coronavirus spikes from attaching to receptors. You can have many antibodies, but in fact, the most important ones are tested in a very specific way and not all laboratories have this ability. Therefore, total antibodies are not enough to protect you from the coronavirus. In addition, they gradually decrease over time and in no case do they remain in their original form, 1-2 months after the disease.

– Do you see a change in the action of the virus itself after the new mutation, what are your observations?

– There are constant mutations in the virus and some of them make it a little more aggressive in terms of spread and infectivity. But at this stage we have no evidence that vaccines are not effective against these mutations. It’s all about time. Unfortunately, the coronavirus infection itself has put us in a long spiral of peaks and lulls that will not end anytime soon.

– Is the virus still as unpredictable as at the beginning and does it find new trends in infection? For example, in the summer he noted that there is an increase in infection in young people. Now what impresses you?

– Now there is a higher incidence among people aged 60 to 80 years. I can say this for sure and it seems like the virus is spreading faster. At least that’s what I’m seeing. But after the measures that have been imposed, there is a slowdown in the spread and there is less treatment in hospitals. Although antigen testing has caught up with PCR, we are seeing a reduction in cases. I firmly hope that in this way the need for hospitalizations and especially treatment in the intensive structures of the hospital will be reduced.

Prof. Vitanov: The measures work

– In fact, one of the reasons for the measures was that the doctors could breathe. Did this happen in hospitals?

– There is a slight pause in the new cases, in fact the colleagues managed to take a breath. But they keep working, I don’t think they stopped treating patients and fighting coronavirus infection. However, it is completely different when you have to take care of 20 patients and when you have 40. It is different as a feeling.

– What is the situation in “Pirogov” at the moment?

– We currently have 250 occupied beds, of which 27 are patients on mechanical ventilation. But compared to the 448 that were provided during the second peak, I think we can get the treatment from everyone who needs it.

– That is, the COVID patients in you have been reduced by half after the measures, right?

– Almost half, about 45% have a decrease.

– Are you worried about what will happen after the New Year? The measures are in place until the end of January, but young children go back to kindergartens and schools. Is it necessary to expand the measures?

“It’s too soon to say that”. Let’s see what happens after January 4, when the youngest children return to school. But still the system is ready. We experienced the second serious peak, we saw the gaps, there was an improvement, so in my opinion, each director of a medical institution has already taken stock and taken the appropriate measures.

– I understand that you do not worry about loosening up after the New Year?

– We are ready to take such relaxation.

– You are sending a difficult year, have you already rested?

– I wouldn’t say I rested. The year was really unpredictable, nobody expected in early 2020 for something like this to happen. Although there was evidence of the call. Chinese virus. You saw what happened in mid-March in our country. In my opinion, next year will not be easier than this, maybe it will be a little easier, but in any case not everything will end as quickly as we want. Of course, I’m hopeful, it shouldn’t leave us, but let’s face it. Let’s not be too optimistic, but rather realistic. As the director of the largest emergency hospital in our country, I prefer to be realistic and I believe that at least until the middle of next year we will have a lot of work with covid patients. Otherwise I would say the year was a huge success for “Pirogov” as an update. We have almost completed the complete renovation of the hospital buildings in terms of energy efficiency. The Council of Ministers allocated additional funds. Three other main buildings of the hospital will be renovated.

– What is the positive in this difficult year?

– I thank our young colleagues, the specialists, who assumed the commitments with great responsibility and I believe that the future of “Pirogov” is precisely for those young colleagues who endured the worst part of the pandemic.

– Has trust in doctors really returned?

– Yes, we have shown that even though our healthcare system is not so reformed and not good enough, it has not managed to do worse than all European countries.

Professor Angelov revealed whether the restaurants will be open on New Year’s Eve until 00:30.

– What wish will you send to your classmates for next year?

– Be healthy, still vital, take care of their patients and their families, because to work normally it is necessary to have peace in the family.