Strategists who implement a quarantine facilitation plan also have a Plan B.

In a meeting on Thursday afternoon, the government will decide to relax the quarantine regime.

“With the main emphasis on traveling through dates, the current plan, which may still need some adjustments, Supermarkets and cultural events should open from next Monday.. We talk about theaters, cinemas and various other events for up to 50 people. Until now, in small groups, imagining that it will be possible to go to the basketball competition, but 50 spectators will be the lucky ones who will be able to see that basketball competition. (…)

Then, starting on Thursday (April 22), the outdoor cafes and restaurants could begin. Starting next Monday (April 26) we could talk about sports clubs, health activities. As of May 3. We would talk about the further expansion of the market, trade and the return of graduates to education, because it is very important for them to start preparing for the final exams, ”said Živilė Simonaitytė, Deputy Minister of Health, at the Delfi Tema fair. .

The deputy minister explained that these dismissals are distributed over time, taking into account the possibilities of testing the employees of the opening activities.

“I will remind you that the government decided a few weeks ago that all these activities should be tested before they open. We already have a large volume of testing, and we just don’t want to completely hack the testing infrastructure, we put some time in the time zone when assessing capacity ”, Ž. Simonaitytė.

The deputy minister explained that the release decisions allow progress in the vaccination of people over 65 years of age.

“Some municipalities could be exclusively praised (…). Although we see that there are younger people in hospitals, but when it comes to deaths from fighting, most of the deaths are still in the group of people over 65. That vaccination rate can allow us to talk about the fact that we can release more activities ”Ž. Simonaitytė.

He postponed the decision for students in grades five through eight.

When asked what will happen to the rest of the students, the Vice Minister of Health said there was a discussion about grades five through eight.

“Until today, it has been decided that we just have to wait for the decision, because most municipalities are in a situation where they have more than 200 cases. Where municipalities are such, we apply the refund only if the students are evaluated with the consent of the parents. There are municipalities and schools that want to take the test. To ensure capacity, we have postponed the decision on fifth-eighth grades, but I think that by looking at the test capacity, we can return to this solution in the near future, ”Ž said. Simonaitytė.

There is also scenario B

The deputy minister acknowledged that they also have scenario B.

“It just came to our knowledge then. We discussed it with the Ministries of Economy and Innovation, Education, Social Security and Culture. I also wanted to link it to the rate of vaccination. Municipalities are strongly encouraged to focus on older people.

But of course we are constantly monitoring the indicators. We hope we don’t need that B. Simonaityt escenario scenario.

According to her, there are two very observable indicators: number of hospitalizations and deaths from covidium.

“Now we see that the number of hospitalizations is really growing, but as for the fact that several older adults have received doses of the vaccine, they are deaths, although unfortunately we still have them, but we have a slightly lower number,” said Ž. Simonaitytė.

At the same time, the Vice Minister pointed out that, in terms of health in general, there is not only physical but also mental health.

“We, as a society, already have to travel to the next steps, to the opportunities to slightly improve mental health, both attending a cultural event, exercising, and perhaps for whoever it is therapy, going shopping. This is probably the one. main aspect, “said Ž. Simonaitytė.

The Vice Minister also indicated that each point of the Government Resolution will be specified in more detail in the specific requirements of the Operations Manager for the safety of the activities.

Previous plans were interrupted by viral mutations

The deputy minister explained that they had deviated from their strategy to follow the ABCD scenarios due to a fundamentally changed situation.

“The scenarios were established on the condition that we did not have mutations in the spread of the virus. At this point, probably every human being assumes a mutation in the virus that in some region has rediscovered a Brazilian, South African or some other strain.

The fact that most new infections in Vilnius are already a British mutation. It is also beginning to dominate in the Kaunas region. We are already taking it for granted, ”Ž said. Simonaitė.

According to the deputy minister, the understanding that the combatant figures will not disappear so quickly, and a fundamental element in terms of releases.

“We have to accept the fact that the British mutation is much more contagious and much more prevalent. And when looking for some solutions, the other element of the game is probably vaccination and immunization.

We are among the TOP three or five or four of the EU countries, according to different parameters, according to vaccination rates. To date, we have already vaccinated more than half a million people with the first dose of the vaccine. That number is very large.

We realize that one hundred percent we cannot even achieve it because someone because of a health problem, someone because of age, cannot be vaccinated. So we try to balance, “said Ž. Simonaitytė.

Approaching the limit when more effort is needed, we invite older people to get vaccinated

According to the deputy minister, Lithuania is still in the vaccine shortage stage when it comes to the ratio of vaccine volumes and the number of people willing to get vaccinated.

“But if we talk about certain groups, and here we are talking mainly about older people (over 65), we are already starting to feel that we are approaching the limit that it takes a little more effort to persuade people (.. But the steps we have taken so far are not the end either. We have new ideas on how to encourage older people to get vaccinated. We believe we will achieve a higher percentage of their vaccinations, “said Ž. Simonaitytė.

The deputy minister also sees that a large part of the public is eagerly awaiting the opportunity to be vaccinated.

“I myself enter the part of society that is waiting for my dose of vaccine. Together we can all understand one very simple thing is that we can have more freedoms when our parents, grandparents, and elderly loved ones are vaccinated. Once they raised us, they took care of us, the children, once they took care of us, now we have to take care of them, because the risks for them are very high ”, Ž said. Simonaitytė.

The success of the vaccination of the elderly, according to the vice minister, depends on the effort of each municipality, and especially on the contacts of family doctors with them.

“We can highlight the municipality of Jurbarkas, which we know is making an incredible effort to find older people, and we are seeing its fantastic results. In many cases, not even children, loved ones are important to older people, but contact from their GP, whom they trust (…).

The really unhealthy amount of persuasion goes to the family doctors, to whom we can all bow our heads and thank them. Regardless of the advertising campaigns we prepare, no one can change the personal and individual contact of a person. We really understand that, it is done very broadly. Is there a place to stretch out? Of course I do, “said Ž. Simonaitytė.

Immunization priorities are not updated very frequently.

For those who find the order of vaccination priorities chaotic, the vice minister explained that they are not changed as often.

“Throughout the vaccination process, in almost four months, we have renewed them perhaps only three or four times. We don’t feel like we change that order very often, “said Ž. Simonaitytė.

The vice minister explained that each municipality, depending on its situation, can decide how to go through that list of priorities.

“Because there are slightly different paces in the municipalities, and some are retreating a bit faster, it could give the impression that the priority list is changing. The Ministry of Health has not changed the priority list itself, at least in recent weeks ”, Ž. Simonaitytė.

Some people were saddened to see that the Vilnius Municipality’s decision to allow vaccination against cystitis in the age group 55 years and older changed rapidly.

The deputy minister explained that before allowing the age cartel, it is still important to vaccinate a large group of people with chronic diseases, for whom the fight is more dangerous, as well as people who perform important functions in society, including civil servants, teachers, supermarkets. Contact operation.

“Supermarket cashiers, lobby staff, security guards have the same priority as all other public sector employees (…). The municipalities are organized differently, but there are municipalities that have already vaccinated the employees of the shopping centers, ”Ž said. Simonaitytė.

Janssen vaccines are still in stock

The Health Department has responded to Johnson and Johnson’s request for temporary storage of their vaccines in the Janssen warehouse pending a decision on their use.

“We have received a symbolic amount of vaccines for the start on Tuesday, 4800 doses, until now that vaccine will be in stock. And then we will see what the recommendations are, the manufacturer’s instructions and we will take action.

For the data being evaluated, the probability of extremely rare side effects is 0.000 … some percent. When infected in a fight, the chance of a blood clot forming is about sixteen percent. When assessing the risks, each person must assess the risk of having a clot and the risk of getting vaccinated, ”Ž said. Simonaitytė.

We are approaching mass vaccination

Health strategists are very wary of promises of mass vaccination.

“The situation is difficult to predict, because we currently receive precise delivery schedules from all manufacturers for April only. We still do not have exact delivery schedules from some manufacturers, even for May, which is already two weeks away,” Ž said. Simonaitytė.

According to the deputy minister, if there are no major changes and Pfizer increases the supply only slightly, the start of mass vaccination in Lithuania is expected in the last week of May or the first week of June.

The issue of public immunity is even more complicated.

“Manufacturers like to schedule on a quarterly basis, so everything after June 30 is an even bigger fog when it comes to inbound vaccine shipments. We hope to have enough for 70 percent. people would be vaccinated with at least the first dose of the vaccine during the summer. But this is a very conditional saying, “Ž. Simonaitytė.