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The scientific community of our country is optimistic that in the fall of vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 will be available and this will positively affect the course of the epidemic locally and globally.
“I am optimistic that the epidemic will not get out of our control and sometime in the fall we will have the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine at our disposal,” he told THEMA. Dimitrios Paraskevi, Associate Professor of the EKPA School of Medicine and member of the Expert Committee of the Ministry of Health for the new coronavirus.
However, there is a difference of opinion about when vaccinations should be started. European Union to affirm that your vaccine Oxford University – AstraZeneca will be available in November and World Health Organization (WHO) say that large-scale vaccines are not expected before mid-2021.
Mr. Dimitrios Paraskevi, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine
A senior European Union official said Thursday that the vaccine, jointly developed by the University of Oxford and British biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, would be available in November if phase III clinical trials confirmed its safety.
Note that “THEMA” on Sunday 23rd August had written that AZD1222 is expected to receive approval from the UK’s National Institute of Health and Excellence (NICE) in mid-October.. The European Commission’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) is expected to issue a favorable opinion, which will signal the approval of the vaccine by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) at the end of November.
Once the above time milestones are reached, the EU expects to have around 30 million of the 300 million doses of the vaccine by the end of 2020. Hellas, based on a special algorithm, expected to receive in December -in the first phase- more than 600,000 doses of the pack of 30 million doses of AZD1222.
It is recalled that the cost of the vaccine per dose is estimated at 3 euros for our country, but by decision of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis Both this and any other COVID-19 vaccine approved by the competent regulatory authorities will be free for citizens.
On the other hand, last Friday a WHO spokesperson, referring to the clinical trials of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 in development, said: “Phase III should last longer, as we must make sure that they provide real protection. and it’s absolutely safe. “
He added that probably the population group that will be vaccinated as a priority when a vaccine is approved will be health workers and then other vulnerable groups, with an emphasis on the elderly. Approximately 2 billion doses will be needed to cover this population.
Sir. Albert Mockery, the Greek CEO and president of the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer, participating last Thursday in an event of the International Federation of Associations and Manufacturers of Medicines (IFPMA) and referring to the vaccine that his company is developing together with the German pharmaceutical company B “A By the end of October we will know if the vaccine we are developing for COVID-19 will be effective. ” Phase I clinical data from BNT162 mRNA clinical trials support its safety and efficacy.
The latest data from Phase I of the clinical study published by n Pfizer and the BioNTech refer to the safety and immunogenicity of BNT162 mRNA. According to them, the administration of a second dose of the vaccine resulted in 3.8 times more neutralizing antibodies registered in the body of volunteers aged 18 to 55 years compared to the group of 38 patients who had recovered from COVID-19. In people 65 to 85 years old, the vaccine produced 1.6 times more neutralizing antibodies than those who had recovered from the coronavirus.
These data demonstrate the high efficacy of BNT162 mRNA in young and old volunteers, while showing that their body tolerates it well. Moderate fever was only observed in 20% of the participants. It is recalled that the BNT162 mRNA encodes an optimized version of the SARS-CoV-2 S glycoprotein, which the virus uses to invade human cells.
Finally, scientific data published on Friday in the scientific journal “The Lancet” for the Sputnik-V vaccine, which has already been approved in Russia, shows that in two Phase I clinical trials, which were carried out in June and July with The participation of 76 volunteers, show that 100% of the participants developed antibodies, without serious side effects. These encouraging results remain to be confirmed in phase III clinical trials.
Constantly more than 200 cases per day
Both globally and in Greece, the epidemic of the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is at a critical juncture. In our country, the epidemic curve shows signs of slowing down the wave, which began at the end of July, but with the number of new daily cases remaining at constant three digits. Hospitalization in Intensive Care Units (ICU) is on the rise, as well as admissions to reference hospitals for confirmed COVID-19 disease.
On Sunday, EODY announced 144 boxes (120 domestic and 24 starters), on Saturday 187 new boxes (160 domestic and 20 starters), last Friday EODY announced 202 new boxes, of which 192 were domestic and 10 were imported. 241 new cases were registered (210 national, 31 imported), on Wednesday 233 (207 national, 26 imported), on Tuesday 207 (186 national, 21 imported), on Monday 183 (173 national, 10 imported). He is 39 years old, of the 48 years who were during the first phase of the epidemic in our country.
Regionally, Attica consistently ranks first with a total of 718 new cases from 8/29 to 9/6 (average 79.7 new cases per day), followed by Thessaloniki with a total of 160 new cases during the same period (average of 17.7 new cases / day).
On Sunday, 41 of our fellow citizens are treated by intubation. Their average age is 70 years. 10 (24.4%) are women and the rest are men. 92.7% of intubated patients have an underlying disease or are 70 years or older. 161 patients have been discharged from the ICU.
In turn, last Friday 33 new admissions were registered in reference hospitals for confirmed COVID-19 disease, on Thursday 55, Wednesday 32, Tuesday 36, Monday 17, Sunday 29 and Saturday 32.
In terms of deaths, in recent days there has been a slight increase in the average per day. As of last Sunday, 285 of our fellow citizens had lost their lives due to the coronavirus.
The reproduction number Rt, which is considered a critical indicator of the evolution of the epidemic, is estimated at 0.72, from 0.85, which was the 7 days prior to the current one. As indicated in the 13th Progress Report of the COVID-19 Observatory (for the period from August 27 to September 2), “epidemiologically, a retention (decrease) of the Rt index below 1 is equivalent to limiting the epidemic and that not all new cases can transmit the virus in more than one contact. Therefore, recent outbreaks of cases in some clusters indicate that the course of the epidemic is significantly affected by the increase in the percentage of contacts. As a result , the large number of daily cases and the maintenance of Rt near the unit continue to require increased vigilance.
The elders
The epidemiological characteristics of the dead show that the COVID-19 disease mainly affects the elderly with underlying diseases. Older people living in nursing homes turn out to be particularly vulnerable. In Thessaloniki, the “Agia Kyriaki” and “Estia Papageorgiou” nursing homes have lost their lives 24 and one elderly person respectively, while the “I Megalohari” nursing home in Moschato has been quarantined after a nurse from 28 years tested positive for the new coronavirus and the corresponding “Cantaurea” in Maroussi where 18 cases were detected. A total of 168 new cases have been registered in all types of closed structures.
It is expected that the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in collaboration with EODY in the next ten days will have completed the tests for the detection of the new coronavirus in nursing homes with molecular tests, inspections of compliance with health protocols for specific structures and facilities. new updated protocols. employees.
In autumn and winter
The start of the new school year on September 14 is considered a key point for the evolution of the epidemic curve in the autumn and winter months. “If you observe the basic precautionary measures, that is, the use of a mask, good hand hygiene, keeping your distance, as far as possible, of course, I don’t think there is a problem. “And if a positive case occurs in the school community, there are detailed instructions for its timely detection and isolation in order to prevent the uncontrolled spread of the coronavirus,” estimates Mr. Paraskevi. When asked what the Expert Committee might suggest in the event of an outbreak in the fall, he replied that “local closures have proven to be very effective. Universal use of a mask can also be recommended. But in any case, a general blockage it is not among our recommendations. ”
And Paraskevi concludes by saying: “We are not at the mercy of our destiny. We carve our destiny. And ‘we’ refers to the observance of the measures that are deemed necessary each time to control the situation.”
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