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The campaign also begins in Sicily. Frequently asked questions and answers
PALERMO – The hope of defeating Covid is linked to a gesture of freedom and responsibility. Today is V-Day, the day of the vaccine, which, as in certain black and white films, has the function of chivalry. But we will have to be good at helping out, simple immunity is not forever, so it will be necessary to achieve what is called ‘herd immunity’ and that some prefer to call, with greater human precision, solidarity immunity. It means that, never like now, that single gesture of responsibility and freedom is linked to the destiny of all.
The first vaccine in Sicily
The first to be vaccinated, in Sicily, will be Dr. Massimo Geraci, head of emergencies at the Hospital Cívico de Palermo. He says: “With me there will be nurses, social and health workers, some young doctors. Obviously, I will continue to behave with great caution, in the meantime because the timing of the vaccination is not immediate and it anticipates a withdrawal within three weeks.
Why should we get vaccinated?
But Dr. Geraci goes further and explains, in clear words, why we will have to vaccinate so many to reach a certain level of safety. This is where the so-called ‘antibody titer’ that determines our level of protection comes into play. “The colleagues who had Covid are back in service after fifty days of illness, with a non-protective antibody titer – says the chief doctor -. As far as we know, vaccine-induced immunity can last between six and nine months. This is a fundamental point to understand that immunity does not last forever and that the virus actually kills it when it stops circulating. That is why it is important that the vaccine is spread as widely as possible, reaching sixty to seventy percent of the population. Taking into account that a new increase in infections would make the mechanism much more problematic. It is not recommended to vaccinate sick people. Are any of my colleagues puzzled? adds Dr. Geraci. It would seem absurd to me. A doctor cannot stop being vaccinated, whoever has chosen science as a profession cannot be fatalistic ”.
In Palermo and then everywhere
Palermo will be the center of V-Day and beyond. As explained by the Covid Palermo and province Emergency Commissioner, Dr. Renato Costa: “Initially, for a few days, the Sicilian health personnel will come here from the other provinces. Then we will proceed in stages, according to the priorities established at the national level. We plan to finish by the summer. How will contact with people take place? We are still in the definition phase. I believe that we will call the most fragile directly and that someone will have to subscribe to a platform to be summoned later ”. Here the complete program.
But how long does immunity last?
“It will be a very important campaign – says Professor Francesco Vitale, Professor of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine at the University of Palermo and Head of the UOC (Complex Operative Unit) of Clinical Epidemiology at the ‘Paolo Giaccone’ Polyclinic -. Early studies tell us that we can expect reasonable protection for at least six, seven months, probably longer. It will be an essential medical blockade operation to crush Covid. “According to a very recent Australian study, published in ‘Science Immunology’, once vaccinated we should be safe for quite some time. And the Italian Medicines Agency (Aifa) in its section question and answer offers an indication: “The duration of protection is not yet defined with certainty because the observation period was necessarily a few months, but knowledge about the other types of coronavirus indicates that the protection must be at least 9 -12 months “.
The way to live, the way to die
Covid has changed our way of life, and also that of dying. Many are the victims of the virus every day, forced to leave without their loved ones by their side, in the accompaniment that doctors and nurses can offer behind jumpsuits and masks. It is one of the cruelest elements introduced by a pandemic that has turned everything upside down: loneliness. But today hope is reborn. A free and responsible gesture will be enough to defend ourselves and others from this unprecedented pain.
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