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The contagion curve is vertical: almost 75,000 positives in Italy, 5,700 only yesterday. Ilaria Capua, Director of the One Health Center of Excellence at the University of Florida, what should we expect?
«The right question is: how should we behave? We are witnessing a live circulation of the virus, we have gone from 1,500 to more than 5,000 infections. It is time to strengthen the commitment of all: the mask must always be worn, I always emphasize it, except at home and in the car if you are alone. If you use the shared car, it is better to carry it. The disinfectant should always be carried with you, washing your hands as often as possible with soap and water. The virus is carried by heavy droplets, which tend to fall quickly. The interpersonal distance of two meters protects us, since the virus cannot travel it ».
How do you assess the situation in schools?
“In Italy we are lucky to have opened them after other European countries and, therefore, with some awareness of what could happen. There is viral circulation in schools, but it is not the cause of the explosion of infections.
The government is considering putting limits on gatherings on the premises and also on private parties.
“It seems fine to me, even if the origin and state of health of those present counts more than the number of people. I think that in this period, for example, it is not wise to have a wedding with guests from half of Italy. Paradoxically, the gathering of one hundred inhabitants of a village would be less risky than a small group of people coming from different areas. Obviously we should not stop getting married: we can do a smaller ceremony and postpone the event a couple of years, when presumably we will return to normality.
Is it possible to think about the closure of some Regions for the future?
“I would exclude this hypothesis, I believe that today more than ever we must rely on common sense to make us survive, learn and grow. Too many rules you die. The Covid problem will not be solved by politicians, but by individuals who feel part of a community.
Are we at risk from a health point of view?
“I have lived in the United States for four years and I do not know the Italian situation in detail. Certainly, however, in the fall of 2020 hospitals are more prepared than in the winter of 2019. Then, in March there was an incomprehensible situation in Lombardy, so much so that we wonder if a different virus was circulating. The answer is no, unfortunately there has been a convergence of negative factors in Lombardy and the health system has shown great fragility. Now weak people know that they must protect themselves, intensive care is half empty because those at risk stay at home, they always wear a mask. Many women have changed their hair, to avoid going to the hairdresser every week to comb or color.
What worries you most?
“The call pandemic fatigue: it happens when patients, but also health facilities and policy makers lose energy, they are immobilized. The antidote is to focus on the truly urgent and necessary matters and leave the rest a little lost. For example, with regard to swabs, it is necessary to streamline procedures, avoid queues forming at sampling points or people waiting days to receive the report. As individuals we give priority to some rules: move as little as possible and always wear a mask, keep a distance of two meters, wash and disinfect your hands. With the union of these behaviors we are protected, a bit like the smallest matryoshka, locked in between the others.
In your opinion, does it make sense to limit the presence in discos and nightlife?
«Yes, they are situations in which we are usually without a mask and speak out loud. Let’s remember that yelling and singing are the best ways to spread the virus. Nightlife must be reinvented, otherwise the virus will continue to circulate among young adults: some of them will reach the severe form of infection. Also, young people can infect family, friends, and colleagues over the years. For a while certain things cannot be done, we have to look for alternative and creative solutions. It can also be seen from an economic point of view: a patient in intensive care costs the health system about 100,000 euros ”.
How do you rate the cocktail of antibodies with which the American president was treated?
“Trump recovered without difficulty, because he received a therapy that would have stopped a moving train (and that does not include hydroxychloroquine). The virus was blocked before entering the bloodstream and therefore was able to colonize organs. Monoclonal antibodies are a sophisticated and precise version of plasma therapy: to give an example of war, we could think of a surface-to-air missile, compared to a somewhat sloppy army. Monoclonals will have a very important moment in biomedicine, but it is necessary to reduce the costs of these drugs. Also in Italy there are groups that study them, for example those of Rappuoli and Lanzavecchia ».
Are there in the United States, as in Italy, difficulties with the flu vaccine?
«No, I did it a month and a half ago, we all get vaccinated in the family. In the United States it is free, in fact a supermarket chain gives a voucher of 10 dollars to those who get vaccinated. In Italy, the problem is that historically there is little vaccine against the flu and therefore over the years there has not been a demand to have a sufficient market share. Public health operations must be carried out in the long term: if more people had been vaccinated in previous years, today we would have less economic impact on the health service (I mean those with complications or sequelae of the flu) and greater availability of vaccines ”.
What can the pandemic teach us?
“I want to see the positive side of this catastrophe. The public health measures we have learned should not be forgotten and this should be a commitment from the scientific community: wash your hands, get vaccinated against the flu. So we have the opportunity to rethink some great systems in the name of sustainability: mobility, work, health. We will have to create more resilient living environments.
October 11, 2020 (change October 11, 2020 | 07:41)
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