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The last book of the doctor, sociologist, public health specialist, professor of Social and Natural Sciences, made “official” for the Greek reading public before at Yale University, Nikola A. Christaki “The arrow of Apollo” (publications “Cactus”). A book that deals with the profound and long-term effects of the recent pandemic on the way we live.
Your compatriots, the Greeks, should be “wise” now that vaccine developments are underway, the author characteristically recommended, with Elias Mosialos – who introduced the book together with Andreas Papandreou – breaking the news: approximately 2.5 million Greeks will be. been vaccinated in January, therefore “by the end of February we will have already started to build a wall “.
N. Christakis shared with the public online his knowledge and opinions, but also what he said with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a telephone conversation they had today. They exchanged points of view, as he said, in the face of the next tourist season with the professor assuring that things will go well but not as well as the day before yesterday. He also had the opportunity to express his opinion that with or without tourists last summer, the second wave could not have been avoided, as well as the much smaller, third wave in 2021 (always lower than people, he clarified). This is how pandemics work, explained the author of the book, while calling it logical and necessary for tourists for the next season, whether they have been vaccinated or have proof of immunity.
One hundred deaths a day is a lot, but compared to countries like Portugal, we’re still doing well, also mentioned the author, doctor and sociologist, who described the adequate defense against the coronavirus like… Swiss cheese in many layers: one layer is the masks, a second the schools closed, a third the tests, a quarter the borders closed and so on. Each of these layers has a few … holes (like Swiss cheese), but all together they make a good defense. A cape is not enough, he argued, and that was seen in the White House when D. Trump relied on the evidence alone, he added.
The dilemma of who should be vaccinated first, the elderly who are vulnerable anyway or the younger workers who are more active, was also at the center of the discussion between the author and Elias Mosialos, the latter adopting a complex model (for example , seniors living with employees and 60-year-old employees).
“Greece will probably have the first 5 million corresponding doses to 2.5 million Greeks in January, therefore, if within the month approximately 25% of the Greek population has been vaccinated “- at the end of February we will have already begun to build a wall”, revealed the professor of Health Policy of the Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences of the University of London, who did not miss, in another point of discussion, to emphasize that in Greece there are not even patient records, how many have diabetes or hypertension. We lack basic things, he stressed.
In addition, El. Mosialos defended the two-speed model in education, that is, children who do not live in the same house as their grandparents go to school, while those who live with them under the same roof attend classes through of e-learning.
However, the professor of Health Policy also raised the great dilemmas of the next day, such as the macroeconomic consequences, p. in terms of debt accumulation, which appears to disproportionately affect developing countries, which are also facing an income crisis. Some of these dilemmas, according to El. Mosialos, are: Do we need to change pension systems? Do we have to look at labor relations differently? Will we have more or less taxes? Will economic growth and possibly inequalities strengthen, or must inequality go hand in hand with economic growth? What about the health and public care systems? Will there be more or less demand for social security? “In Europe, it seems that we are going to bet on a more public health system,” he said, closing the displeasure.
For his part, Andreas Papandreou, Professor of Environmental Economics in the EKPA Department of Economics and Director of the Laboratory for Political Economy of Sustainable Development, spoke about the author and highlighted that N. Christakis explains why Covid-19 should operate. “Bell”. Globalization, migration (and due to climate change), air links – all of these contribute to the spread of deadly viruses, he noted in particular. “Apollo does not stop shooting his arrows,” Andrés also remarked. Papandreou used both the title of the book and its source of inspiration (Apollo was shooting arrows that brought an epidemic to the Greek camp, according to the Iliad story), while pointing out that we should be more prepared next time. Adding that the speed with which the vaccines were developed highlights the importance of scientific, state, private and civil society cooperation.
The presentation of the book was carried out by Público, the publications “Cactus” and ‘Inside Story’, moderated by journalist Giannis Goranitis.
