Crisanti: “I was too pessimistic but I don’t regret it”

“Was I too pessimistic? I don’t regret it.” Professor Andrea Crisanti feared extremely negative consequences after the reopening decided by the government on April 26th. The data, about a month later, show a slowdown in the epidemic. “I may have been too pessimistic, but I don’t regret saying that we took an unnecessary risk. The way was well marked by England. If you ask a doctor to choose between a safe procedure and a risk, I think you would like being told that a safe procedure is followed. This is true on a personal and societal level. After 125,000 deaths, every life counts. All the more so since the end of the tunnel is near, I see no reason to take unnecessary risks, “he says. the director of the Department of Molecular Medicine of the University of Padua in Piazzapulita. The situation improves with the increase in vaccinations. “The probability of infection for a person who has received 2 doses of the vaccine is extremely low. But it is a probability that it exists. We will start taking off the mask outdoors when 60-70% of people are vaccinated and the probability of infecting and getting infected will be very low. It is also important to vaccinate minors, otherwise you will not get herd immunity “, says Crisanti, connected from London. “In England there is extreme caution because the second wave had a devastating impact, even on politics and science. They don’t want to jeopardize the results they have achieved, they have an obsessive attention towards variants and I think it is totally justified. There is an Indian variant outbreak in one area and they have mobilized all vaccination capabilities to intervene in that area in 4-5 days, “he explains.