Mitsotakis: late spring, early summer we return to partial normality POLITICAL

Referring to the good performance of Greece in handling the pandemic by the coordinator and editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, the discussion began with the participation of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for the online meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), which also It was attended by US Director Anthony Fauci, American Heart Association Executive Director Nancy Brown and Philips CEO Frans van Houten.

“It is worth remembering how good Greece’s performance is. If the West has behaved badly in general with the coronavirus, Greece has lost – unfortunately – 5,600 people, but in a population of 10.4 million.” This means that the death rate per million inhabitants is just over 500, “said John Micklethwait at the beginning of the debate.

“Germany has 651 deaths (per million), the United States with 1,300 per million and the United Kingdom with about 1,500.” So the prime minister has done well, “he added.

For his part, Kyriakos Mitsotakis explained the strategy followed by the government since the first stage of the health crisis. “What I have learned and what I am clear about is that we must trust experts and scientists. This is what we did from the beginning. They talked. “We made the decisions on time,” he said.

The Prime Minister also highlighted the importance of clarity in communication with citizens. “If you communicate your message clearly to citizens, Greeks may have a reputation for not being very disciplined, but as soon as we explained to citizens exactly what the situation was and asked for their support, most, if not all, were disciplined. “. He added that in Greece the number of citizens who oppose masks and vaccines is small.

On the occasion of the Prime Minister’s position on the importance of trust in scientists, Dr. Fauci contrasted this message with the experience of the United States. “We had the opposite, a situation where instead of focusing, from the top rungs, on science and realizing that we have to make decisions based on data and data, mixed messages were sent,” he said.

Referring to the vaccination campaign, Kyriakos Mitsotakis highlighted that a particularly important factor is the increase in the availability of vaccines by pharmaceutical companies, noting that “we will pressure companies to comply with the terms of the contracts and deliver the vaccines faster”.

He clarified that Greece has consciously chosen to always have a stock for the second delivery. “We know that the vaccines have been approved based on very specific clinical trials.” We do not want to run the risk of missing doses and not administering the second dose on time, according to the protocols under which these vaccines have been approved, “said the Prime Minister.

The text of the prime minister’s speeches

• John Micklethwait: Let me start with you, Prime Minister. What did you learn from the pandemic affecting the rest of the world?
• Kyriakos Mitsotakis: First of all, John, thank you for your kind words. Although when we talk about the number of deaths, any statistics on the number of deaths is indeed problematic. What I have learned and what I am clear about is that we have to trust experts and scientists. This is what we did from the beginning. They talked. We make decisions on time.
• We recognize that there is no perfect data set, there is always a certain degree of uncertainty in the face of an epidemic. That is why we have been able to deal with this crisis effectively. There was a second wave that hit us hard in November and we proceeded with a severe lockdown, we suffered financial damage but we realize that no one can return to some kind of economic normalcy unless the pandemic is under control.
• So what we have learned is to trust both scientists and citizens. If you communicate your message clearly to citizens, Greeks may have a reputation for not being very disciplined, but as soon as we explained to citizens exactly what the situation was and asked for their support, most, if not all, were disciplined. . We had some opponents of the vaccine and the use of the mask. And now that we talk about the use of the mask it is mandatory and everyone wears it.
• We understand that if we want to return to a normal level before more than 50% of the population is vaccinated, we must follow the basic measures. Scientists assure us that these measures are effective.
• Therefore, we do not need knowledge of nuclear physics, we must only comply with what the experts tell us, but also make sure that if we need to make courageous decisions, mainly painful decisions from a financial point of view, we must make sure that we make on time and we use the time we save to strengthen the health system. We inherited a healthcare system that was particularly problematic, we doubled the beds in the ICU. But even that is not enough if the pandemic is not managed proactively and dynamically.

• John micklethwait: From the point of view of Greece, if I am not mistaken, you are one of the countries where there is talk of returning life to normal conditions. Do you think this step has been postponed now? When do you expect to return to normal activity?

• Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Much will depend on the vaccination rate. All European countries have developed the infrastructure and we could give many more vaccines, but we do not have access to them. However, despite the delays in the authorization of vaccines, I still believe that cooperation at European level in the supply of vaccines is generally satisfactory. Of course, we will pressure drug companies to honor the terms of the contracts and deliver vaccines faster.
• But I am skeptical of these daily measurements of how many of us have been vaccinated. We have consciously made the decision to ensure that we always have stock for the second dose, so that there are no delays, because we know that the vaccines have been approved based on very specific clinical trials. We do not want to run the risk of not having a dose and not giving the second dose on time, according to the protocols under which these vaccines have been approved.
• Assuming there will be great progress in the number of vaccines available in the second quarter, I expect the really mass vaccination to start sometime in March and continue into April and May.
• If we also assume that there is a certain degree of seasonality, as we observed last year, a return to normal can be predicted in late spring, early summer. Of course this is very important to us, as we want people to travel and come to Greece, but we want them to come safely.
• That is why we have taken the initiative, at the European level, with some type of vaccination certificate. Obviously, at this time, we have vaccinated about 2% of our population, this is not a debate today, but it will have to be done sooner rather than later.
• Therefore, the conditions to facilitate travel for those who travel, once vaccinated, will be an important issue for the whole of Europe. Until then we will see a stop-start. As I said, a few days ago we opened retail. We handle cases very carefully. But all of this causes great economic damage. We have supported the labor market through active job suspension solutions, but we know we cannot do it forever.
• So a lot depends on the availability of vaccines, on the one hand, and on the citizens’ compliance with the basic rules that we know work to get results. I am moderately optimistic on both fronts.

• John micklethwait: Mr. Prime Minister. A more political issue for you. Do you think people should pressure China for this?

• Kyriakos Mitsotakis: I agree with Dr. Fauci, first of all, on China’s responsibility to be more transparent on this issue. And I agree with the role of the WHO. It was designed to serve this purpose and it is clear that it has a very important role to play. Certainly, at the European level, we are also a supranational organization that seeks the well-being of European citizens and we have to do more and coordinate our policies. There’s also a great discussion about our dependence on the supply chain …

• John micklethwait: In the first place, it was not the best moment for the European Union, nor for the United States government, of course. Do you think that the EU has already managed to take joint action?

• Kyriakos Mitsotakis: In the beginning it was a real struggle, a national struggle, a Wild West, when all the countries were trying to get protection materials in April and May. However, I would say that despite the delays, the fact that the EU decided to buy vaccines centrally and dispose of them according to population without making any distinction between rich and poor countries within the EU was a moment of European solidarity.
• For my part, I considered it correct that the EU was negotiating on behalf of our country, instead of having to negotiate as a medium-sized country with the big pharmaceutical companies on this issue. Could we have done better (as EU) and at a faster pace? Of course, but let’s not forget that we all have access to vaccines and things are going well and the pace will pick up as we manage to buy vaccines at the central and European level.
• And we also need approvals at the European level. You know that two vaccines have been approved and the AstraZeneca vaccine is pending approval. If the EU approves it, we will also have access to this third vaccine. However, I think that the crisis has taught us a lot about how we can improve our cooperation at European level.

See Mitsotakis’s intervention in the Davos forum: