The epidemic curve is rising, the behavior of the “silent actors” is critical Hellas



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“The epidemic curve of the disease remains at levels above 200 cases per day with slight upward trends, while similar trends seem to be followed by the number of intubated, which exceeds 30, steadily since the beginning of the week” , said. of the pandemic, the associate professor of the Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology of the Faculty of Medicine of EKPA and member of the committee of the Ministry of Health, Gikas Majorkinis.

He stressed that the epidemic has prolonged circulation and dispersal in the 20-30 age group, while the dispersion in the immediately younger age group is also important.

He called on young people returning from vacation to limit social contact and protect vulnerable groups, especially the elderly, from avoiding places with paint and wearing a mask.

At this time, said Mr. Majorkinis, since the incubation time of the disease is 6 to 14 days, there are mainly cases that refer to the period exactly after the august 15 window and the qualitative characteristic of this dispersion is its relation to the summer holidays.

“The virus in young people generally causes very mild symptoms as a result, they remain undiagnosed, and transmissions from the young are nearly untraceable. Therefore, when returning from vacation, we must consider ourselves like silent actors and try to limit for a period of 7 to 10 days, social contacts and wear a mask on close contacts. “So if we have the virus and we don’t understand it, which is very likely, we can dramatically reduce the chance of further transmission to our loved ones.”

For the opening of schools

Controlling the epidemic is a collective effort, said the professor. “The covid-19 epidemic is spreading through the social fabric, and by spreading through our ecosystem, we are all responsible and we can all contribute to speed up or slow down transmission,” he said.

He added that the proposed and implemented interventions aim to balance the epidemic and control its spread, maintaining social priorities and economic activities. “In this context, opening schools is a universal social priority, and it will require effort, patience and perseverance from everyone.” Mr. Majorkinis asked parents and youth to return from their vacation at the end of August, so that there is time to refrain from high-risk social activities and reduce the burden of the epidemic before the start of the school year.

The goals of vaccines

The epidemiologist finally turned to reports on the goals that vaccines must achieve in clinical trials to be considered effective. It seems, therefore, that even if 50% efficiency is achieved, this will be enough to cause a significant percentage of immunity in the population, so that the epidemic will slow down and we can return to normality.

When asked how safe vaccines would be, Majorkinis said the oxford vaccine It has been tested in over 2,500 people and has very mild side effects, like regular vaccines. They are designed and based on technologies that can achieve their mass production in a short time. We are in no rush to give them to the world. Now they are in clinical phase 3. “He recalled that all the therapeutic means we have today have been examined in the context of phase 3 clinical trials.” So, for vaccines, there are no discounts. The crucial number is not how long the tests took, but how many people and how. We know that the vaccines that will be available will be fully tested and based on the rules of modern medicine. “

Source: ΑΠΕ – ΜΠΕ



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