“Updated vaccines so to speak” will arrive in the fall. This was underlined by the virologist Andrea Crisanti, who spoke at TimeLine on Sky Tg24. “The vaccine that will be made available in October-November it is calibrated against the Omicron variant, which no longer exists, no longer circulates. We have arrived at Omicron 5, and we do not know in the least which variant there will be in November. In the face of this large number of cases, being reminded now for the over 60s and the frail is the right thing to do. It’s not worth waiting and running the risk of getting infected. “
There is therefore no reason to postpone vaccination. “The current vaccine – adds Crisanti – still protects against serious complications of the disease. We should not expect a vaccine to protect us against the transmission of the virus at this time. ”
SUMMER WAVE – “It seems we are approaching the plateau” of Covid-19 cases, says Crisanti. Are we almost at the peak of this summer wave? “With 100-150 thousand cases per day, probably underestimated by half, then 300 thousand cases per day, after a month of transmission the virus has infected or is about to infect everything it could infect. Therefore, by decreasing the susceptible population, the dynamics of transmission of the virus is decreasing. We are reaching the plateau for this very reason: in the last 2 months, according to the estimates made, we are talking about 20-25 million cases “.
WEST NILE – West Nile is “an infection that is mainly transmitted through birds. Man is only a secondary host, it is collateral damage” when an infected mosquito bites him. “The Veneto Region in the past has implemented a surveillance program with traps in the field to check if there were infected mosquitoes, because first birds and mosquitoes are infected and then humans. So generally these traps work as sentinel and damage an idea of transmission between birds. When we begin to identify infected mosquitoes, we generally proceed with extensive use of disinfectants. This was done again this year. Without this surveillance system, surely the problem would be much more wide “.
Why Veneto is one of the most affected areas in Italy? “For a very simple reason – clarified Crisanti – Just go around the countryside in this area and you will see a myriad of waterways and many irrigation fountains. It is therefore precisely the orography of Veneto, which it is a region rich in water “, together with” a very strong agricultural vocation, which means that the ideal conditions for the multiplication of mosquitoes are generated in the field “. This virus, the expert recalled, “we have known for a long time, for decades. It was initially transmitted in the tropical and subtropical belt of Africa. Later, about 20-25 years ago, it was identified for the first time in New York. In Italy the first infections were recorded between 2008 and 2010 and the worst West Nile epidemic was in 2018, with about 5-6 thousand cases in Italy “.