Omicron Italia variant, control room awaited: hypothetical measures “but nothing is decided”

New anti-covid measures in Italy to stem the increase in infections and protect themselves from the Omicron variant? “Decisions will be made based on the data from the latest sequencing to see the rate of diffusion” of the new variant. Word of Prime Minister Mario Draghi who yesterday, during the meeting with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and in view of the control room on 23 December, expressed himself in this way on the hypothesis. “Now, this week – said Draghi -, we will have a control room in which we will review any measures to be taken for the Christmas holidays, nothing has yet been decided: decisions will be made on the basis of the data from the latest sequencing to see the speed of diffusion of Omicron. The gist of the speech is to proceed with the maximum speed to the third administration “, the words of the premier. Read also Draghi therefore confirms what was already stated on Sunday by Minister Roberto Speranza, who had spoken of a new variant “not yet significantly spread” in our country, but also of an “advantage” of Italy that “we must maintain” because “we know that will not last long. But 10 days means 4-5 million third doses and this can make the difference. Thursday the control room meets, no decision has been made: we will make the evaluations based on the data “, assured Speranza. .
If nothing is yet certain, it will certainly be difficult for the new measures to arrive as early as Christmas given the proximity of the control room, but in the meantime the contagion does not seem to stop: from yesterday, Monday 20 December, they then moved into the yellow zone with the obligation of outdoor masks also Marche – which recorded two new cases of Omicron -, Liguria, Veneto and the Autonomous Province of Trento. Lazio, on the other hand, is preparing for the color change for New Year’s Eve, but from next 23 December, outdoor masks will be mandatory here too.In the meantime, the pandemic in Italy, the restrictions and the restart were at the center of the speech yesterday. President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, who during the ceremony at the Quirinale for the exchange of greetings with the representatives of the institutions spoke of a time that “remains difficult, in the alternation of hopes and new alarms. There is a need for clarity and of loyalty as indispensable premises for a full, and common, assumption of responsibility in the face of the risks that are still before us.We have seen how clarity, in the face of the harshness of the pandemic, has wiped out the time of fictions, of distractions. All this seemed to me an extraordinary sign of maturity and seriousness “, continued the President of the Republic.” The season of reconstruction – added the Chief of in the state – it also presents itself as a season of duties. Duties also spontaneously assumed by our fellow citizens, which I would like to thank once again. We have understood that the Republic is both institutions and communities. The community needs its democratic institutions to defend itself, to translate its values ​​into reality, to open the way towards the future “. In Mattarella’s words, also a warning to the press on the media coverage given to no vax requests:” The first defense against the virus – the president stressed – was the confidence of the vast majority of Italians in science and medicine. This was accompanied by that in the institutions, with the substantial, orderly adherence to what was indicated in the various phases of the emergency by the managers, at the various levels. The few exceptions – which have perhaps been given disproportionate media prominence – do not in any way affect the exemplary conduct of almost all Italians. “But what could the measures be? Waiting for the control room, the debate is on: focused on the hypothesis of swabs for vaccinated people in crowded places and major events and on the duration of the Green pass. But some experts also urge the obligation to vaccinate and the lockdown for no vax. “The vaccination obligation creates further division while the obligation for workers it could be an element on which there is already an agreement and an element that means greatly expanding the audience of those who have to be vaccinated “against Covid 19, virologist Fabrizio Pregliasco, professor at the University of Milan, tells Adnkronos Health . “Even from the point of view of a check – underlines the expert – it would be a more effective measure because then with the” generalized obligation, remembers the virologist, “it is not that you can go and get people and give him the vaccination “. It all comes down to a fine and “with a fine against a convinced no-vax – comments Pregliasco who has repeatedly confronted the diehards – do you know what you are doing? in these days the most disparate theses, how to put the mandatory tampons to go to the stadium even for those who have received three doses of the vaccine. They are all cosmetic measures “says Matteo Bassetti, head of infectious diseases at the San Martino hospital in Genoa, who spoke in ‘Rotocalco 264’ on Cusano Italia Tv. “The only measure that should be taken urgently would be to make the vaccine mandatory, taking advantage of these two weeks of school closure to vaccinate those who are not yet vaccinated. After that, the opportunity should be given to all to get vaccinated in open facilities without a reservation and say that from January 10, those who are not vaccinated will pay a penalty “. And to Adnkronos Salute he explains:” There is a much more harmful virus around Omicron, that of the panic that has assailed many colleagues, journalists and laymen. Terrorism and catastrophism are a danger, like panic, because they can lead to bad decisions. I hope Draghi will keep the bar straight on Thursday. “Massimo Andreoni, head of infectious disease at the Tor Vergata Polyclinic in Rome and scientific director of the Italian Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases (Simit), is also obliged to vaccinate.” What is happening in other European countries it is very alarming and the feeling is that this variant is fearful – he says to Adnkronos Salute – The Imperial College of London has confirmed that the Omicron variant raises several questions and further clarifications are needed. Great attention is needed, as Minister Speranza reiterated, but I believe that Omicron’s impact on hospitals must also be anticipated. So the time has come to move from advice and recommendations to obligations, starting with the vaccination one that I have supported since the beginning of the pandemic “. On the various hypotheses of measures that the government could evaluate in the control room scheduled for Thursday,” many of those circulating in the press can have an impact, we are about to enter a critical moment that will see families reunite and there will be greater circulation of people – warns Andreoni – so there will inevitably be a situation of greater risk of contagion. Many measures, such as the vaccination obligation itself, must be taken by politics but it seems clear to me that now obligations must also be highlighted, for example at Christmas to think of a maximum of 6 people at the table and preferably all vaccinated with the third dose; bring the mask outdoors and absolutely avoid crowding situations “.” I am obliged to vaccinate “against Covid-19, even more so in this phase of the emergency, with the Omicron variant running and the Christmas holidays that opportunities for contagion will multiply. Maria Rita Gismondo, director of the Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, Virology and Diagnostic of Bio-emergencies at the Sacco hospital in Milan, remains firm on the idea that it is necessary to make anti-Covid immunization compulsory. Adnkronos Health – to a vaccination obligation that should apply from 40 years and up and for the frail of every age group “. For Massimo Galli, former director of Infectious Diseases at the Sacco hospital in Milan,” if things continue to go how they are going, with the worsening of the pandemic data, it would be necessary to evaluate the decision, which other countries are already taking, of a lockdown for the unvaccinated “.” It is an option that must be considered – he tells the Adn kronos Health – And this should also serve as an incentive to vaccinate diehards, or at least those who are diehards out of fear or ignorance. Not those who are ideological because, in this case, they do not move from their point of view “. As for the green certification,” it may be worthwhile to review the duration of the Green pass, for a reduction in perspective to 6 months . But at the same time it is necessary to observe what will happen in the coming weeks with the Omicron variant. The data will greatly clarify the ideas in this regard, also in terms of the measures to be taken. A possible reduction in the duration of the green certificate is however an idea that has its own logic, also to speed up vaccination. “” A 15-day lockdown immediately for the unvaccinated? I would also be quite supportive. I was going to say neutral, but I think: better them than the others. Also to help adhesion to the vaccine “underlines Massimo Clementi, director of the Laboratory of Microbiology and Virology of the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan.” The generalized vaccination obligation from 40 years upwards could also be the alternative – thinks – but it is the same thing in the end because it is aimed at those who have not had the vaccine so far. So the audience is the same “. Virologist Guido Silvestri, professor at Emory University in Atlanta, observes that” Covid for fully vaccinated people has a lethality now similar if not lower than that of the flu, while the constant media panic and the continuing threat of new restrictions – moreover in a situation in which we have a sixth of the deaths and a quarter of those hospitalized in intensive care compared to last year these days – is doing enormous damage both on a socio-economic and psychological level “.” Let’s push strongly for the vaccination of the 5-11 years old, which I highly recommend – says Silvestri – and we accelerate with the third doses of vaccine (the so-called ‘booster’), patiently and calmly explaining to the population why vaccines are our atomic against the virus (and avoiding both criminalizing the hesitant and ventilating absurd restrictions on the vaccinated). In the same way we insist with the super Green pass, a measure that is right and sensible in my opinion, we accelerate with antivirals (whether they are monoclonal or pills like Paxlovid), and we do everything possible to increase the capacity and operation of the hospital system, quickly. and without skimping on resources “.