Covid Italia, Salmaso: “Protection measures are needed despite vaccine, GB teaches”

“England was the first to vaccinate against Covid-19. Very well, with great effort. And it has relied almost exclusively on vaccination to counteract viral circulation, interrupting individual protection measures (such as masks, distancing, hygiene) in based on the fact that about 70% of the population was vaccinated. However, it seems to me that, given the increase in infections across the Channel, this is the demonstration that not only the vaccine is enough, but it is necessary to maintain individual precautions: again the measures of control, of social distancing and the reduction of the possibility of exposure “. To tell Adnkronos Salute this is Stefania Salmaso, epidemiologist of the Italian Association of Epidemiology (AIE), commenting on the new peak of infections in the United Kingdom, where even hospitals are back under pressure. “The British – he explains – have a higher diagnostic capacity than ours. And therefore they are able to identify more infections than ours. It is also true, however, that in the face of the high number of infections detected, they also had a increase in hospital admissions and deaths. So there is not only a better sensitivity of the system, but actually there is a resurgence “, notes Salmaso who makes a reflection on the perspective of the end of the emergency in our country, scheduled for end of the year and the expectations related to this appointment. “At this stage we cannot abandon individual protections – warns the epidemiologist – Obviously the prospect is that as the number of vaccinated increases, with very, very high immunized thresholds and with an eye to the viral circulation data, we could think about relaxing some measures very cautiously “. “England, when it mitigated individual protection measures, did not have the vaccination coverage of Italy, which at this moment is greater”, Salmaso observes, specifying that, “if things remain as they are, the quota of the 90% of eligible Italians vaccinated and once the circulation of infection and severe forms has been cut down, we could think of reducing the measures “. “But always evaluating the data of the moment, because we do not have a static situation – recalls the epidemiologist – but linked to the variability of a biological agent”. Salmaso invites us not to let our guard down even in the face of positive data on the pandemic trend in Italy in recent weeks, with a drop in pressure on hospitals and intensive care units. “The risk of variants is always there. It does not come from us, but from that part of the world, a large part, where one does not vaccinate. The Delta variant has also emerged in areas where there was no vaccination. We know that all populations where there are no effective control measures against Sars-CoV-2, they are large open-air laboratories, where new viral forms can emerge “. To tell Adnkronos Salute is Stefania