Covid, Lopalco: “With vaccine change criteria for closures”

Coronavirus in Italy? “Now that we have the vaccines, the criteria that determine closures must be changed. And the number of positive cases will be used for what it is: a useful data to stem the progress of the epidemic, to monitor the spread of the virus. that must really count are hospitalizations. If we get infected, but we will not have serious consequences because the most fragile are protected by the vaccine, it will not be a huge problem. ” the system of parameters on the colors of the Regions must be overcome. The number of positive cases will interest us more and more for monitoring, for sequencing, for evaluating the efficacy of the vaccine. Region and its citizens, the fact of carrying out the swabs and consequently finding positive ones, could lead someone into temptation, to brake on the tests to avoid ending up in orange or red “.” At the end and monitoring, those data are needed – continues the Professor of Hygiene of the University of Pisa – We therefore need a serious intelligence and tracking system, at the same time we need to connect the closures to a signal of overload of the health system. If the viral circulation increases, but there are no difficulties in the hospitals, I don’t see why we have to close. After the waves we have had, with many people vaccinated, I think a new wave is unlikely. In conclusion: we always monitor the situation, but we are careful not to create automatic mechanisms that could cause enormous damage to society without health benefits ”. As for the Delta variant and the Israeli study that Pfizer serum would be effective in 64 percent of vaccinated people, Lopalco says that “we know that variants can make vaccines less effective on infection, but what we need to care about is not to go in the hospital. The problem is not the infection, but the serious illness. And the vaccine reduces severe cases ”. When we have vaccinated 70 percent of Italians we will have to enter into the perspective of living with the virus, says the commissioner: “If the majority of the population is protected, we must think like this. On the other hand, it is not that we close the company every year due to the flu which also causes millions of infected people and thousands of deaths. This virus, if we manage to vaccinate well, will be one of the many that, unfortunately, cause interstitial pneumonia. But look, there are already others. We must be clear: this virus is not eradicable, it cannot disappear from the face of the earth like smallpox. It must be controlled, with vaccination. It is not excluded that the third dose may be needed, but it is too early to tell. If the virus circulates without causing damage, however, the third dose will eventually make the natural infection “.