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“On Sunday I’m going to get vaccinated and it will be the beginning of the end, a date to remember.” Raffaele Bruno, 54, associate professor of infectious diseases and primary at San Matteo di Pavia, having cured Mattia, patient one, wants to be among the first to testify to the usefulness of the vaccine.
Do you want to be the one vaccinated?
«On Sunday in Pavia 50 will be vaccinated and if I am not the first, I will be the second or the third. The first phase of vaccination is dedicated to health personnel and in my department all colleagues from hospitals in the province will be vaccinated ».
Do you have enough doses for everyone?
«I don’t know, because it is a work in constant updating. The first 1,620 doses will arrive on Sunday morning at the Niguarda Hospital in Milan and from there they will be distributed in all the provinces. In Pavia 50 will arrive in the day, but I don’t know what will happen from Monday ».
With Sky’s Fabio Vitale, he wrote the book “A Doctor” for Harper Collins, the proceeds of which go to the families of healthcare workers who died in the pandemic. Have you forgotten about them?
“Mine is a pandemic log book. In Pavia we entered the tragedy from the second day and since then more than 250 doctors and 60 nurses have died in Italy. I don’t think our book wins who knows what numbers, but I hope it helps to remember those who died at work trying to help others.
Why is the curve descending so slowly?
“There are still many hospitalizations and only 628 deaths yesterday, because the virus is circulating. The measures taken were useful, but not decisive.
How can this be done?
“I understand that the measures must be reconciled with the economy, but the only solution is the blockade.”
I mean, the red zone after January 6?
“We will have to see the numbers in two weeks, but I am afraid that this yellow, red and orange period will not be enough. The open and close strategy should be replaced by the close and open strategy, that is, first the contagion is lowered and then activities are reopened. We must not pursue the virus, but prevent it.
What is the threshold that allows coexistence with the virus?
“There is no precise number of infections, but when the Rt index is less than 1 in all regions and hospitals are free.”
Does the virus variant worry you in any way?
“The variants are many and normal in a pandemic. Currently, the latter is not of particular concern. The reality is that Sars-Cov-2 seems very stable and less changeable than other viruses.
Is it good news?
Yes, because that’s how vaccines work.
How many Italians have opted for the variant?
Let there be only one in Rome. In any case, it was prudent to close the flights.
Is it true that Zaia suspects that the variant could have influenced the contagion in Veneto in addition to alleviating the yellow zone?
“I don’t know what elements it has in this regard, but Veneto has remained in the yellow zone thanks to the efficient health system. Except that the level of contagion deserved the orange zone. On the contrary, Calabria has turned red not because of the number of infected, but because of the fragility of the health system.
You cured patient one, but isn’t it the first after the discovery of the infected child in Milan in December?
“Mattia was the first patient to be diagnosed and treated, while the first truly infected will never be discovered. We often phone you, even asking for good wishes. He feels like a dad, who sadly lost to Covid.
Do you treat patients today as they did then?
“At first I felt like a 19th century doctor experimenting with therapies on patients, then many things were understood and mortality decreased.”
For example?
«The double viral and inflammatory component, which cortisone helps. The antiviral Remdesivir, which is used within 6 to 9 days of the onset of symptoms, does not work otherwise. And the experimental plasma therapies. ‘
And to pamper yourself at home?
“You have to go to the hospital, but if you can’t, after talking to the doctor, if and only if you lack oxygen, you can take cortisone and paracetamol pills for fever.”
At what point are the monoclonal treatments?
“In the US they were approved and Trump was cured. In Italy they are still being studied: they are useful at the beginning of the disease, but at the moment they are very expensive ”.
