Professor, did you expect the Covid infection curve to improve that quickly?
«Mine is a pleased surprise – says Massimo Galli, director of infectious diseases at the Sacco Hospital in Milan – because in Italy the numbers of the epidemic are clearly improving, beyond the rosiest expectations. With the reopenings there was a 10% chance that things would follow this path, but in the end it went well and I’m really happy about it ».
However, she did not agree with the reopening at the end of April. He spoke of “badly calculated risk”.
“That’s true, but I’m a doctor, I rely on data, not opinions. When many dances began on April 26, the situation did not foreshadow that things would go so well. The numbers were not at all reassuring, the infections and deaths were still high, it was not unlikely to think that there could have been a further increase in infections. We had not yet reached the promised threshold of 500,000 vaccines per day and the unknown dose persisted: we were not sure that those promises would really be delivered to us ».
And what happened instead?
«The vaccination campaign has brought about a change, which will not be temporary. Vaccines are shielding deaths and hospitalizations, they’ve shifted the balance faster than I expected, and the vaccinated hoof is growing further. Furthermore, immunization has worked better in our country than elsewhere, in proportion to the vaccines made. Also thanks to the elderly and the frail who have made sure to expose themselves as little as possible to the virus. And allow me, I also deserve the constant calls for prudence, without taking easy positions ».
You have always been considered a catastrophist, have you changed your mind?
“Forgive me, but I reject this definition. I would say that for very political and not very noble reasons this label was stuck on me and my other colleagues by right-wing newspapers. But between being optimistic for pleasure, in the absence of data, (I call them reductionists) and telling how the numbers really are passing through catastrophists, there is a difference. At a certain stage the data did not push us to optimism and there was the need to keep it clear that we could not let our guard down, especially after last year’s precedent, when we were few to say that the virus would return to to visit us, as has happened on time ».
Are we protected from variants?
“New variants, such as the Indian one, are unknown. However, we know that vaccines work for now at least to avoid serious illness. Less is known about the infection ».
What will our future be like with the virus?
«We will have to learn to live with it, trying to contain it and in the meantime continue tightly with the vaccination campaign. We do not have a complete solution to the problem, but we have a trend that makes the interference of the disease on our daily life less heavy and the prospect that the recovery is a concrete fact ».
What do we still need to do to avoid mistakes?
«Teenagers must be vaccinated to prevent the virus from circulating and thus reopen schools with serenity in September. Young people represent an important reservoir and, although almost always asymptomatic, they keep alive the problem that must be solved globally, if we really want to get rid of the coronavirus. Instead, there are huge inequalities in the vaccination campaign, with entire countries in Africa and South America that have never even seen a vaccine. These countries must be helped ».
What autumn should we expect?
“I am optimistic. In viruses, it is true, a lot is still circulating among the younger age groups, often completely asymptomatic and for this reason they do not swab. But even among these categories, the number of vaccinated people is increasing and will continue to grow. People are tired, they will take their liberty in the summer, but vaccines are having such an impact that I don’t think a new autumn wave comparable to the one we experienced last year is possible. Unless we come across a new variant that is so bad, but I really hope not, as to evade the vaccine response. Today we know that vaccines can be updated quickly if necessary ».
Covid vaccine, things to know
May 30, 2021 (change May 30, 2021 | 11:19 am)
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