2023-12-31 09:10:25
The New Year’s Eve is approaching and with it comes a “wave” of admissions to hospitals due to the coronavirus and the flu and RSV cocktail.
More than 1,500 patients are hospitalized with coronavirus in the country’s hospitals, while the recommendations of the experts are strong, both for the use of masks in closed spaces and health structures and for the vaccination of people over 60 years old with the updated vaccine for coronavirus, but also the flu vaccine.
Dr. sounded the alarm. Gikas Majorkinis, stating, however, that currently there is no need to take horizontal measures.
Speaking to ERT, the assistant professor of Hygiene and Epidemiology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens initially stated that “Covid has the lion’s share of hospital admissions, we have over 1,500 patients in hospitals, there is a doubling from other time periods, but, in compared to the pandemic periods, we are much lower.”
“We will have enough morbidity and mortality”
“We will have enough morbidity and mortality from Covid, however, we are not at a point where measures of a horizontal nature are needed. At the moment the recommendation given by the national vaccination committee concerns the population over 60 and vulnerable groups. “Unfortunately we have far fewer than the 200,000 people in this category who have gone to do it – if we compare it to the equivalent flu vaccination which has exceeded 2 million,” explained the professor.
“The discrepancy observed between the two vaccines is a combination of two things: firstly, the flu vaccine is much more affordable as it is available in pharmacies, while the Covid vaccine requires an appointment and maybe people neglect it, maybe they find it more difficult,” he added. .
“The other thing is that if you ask someone how many doses of Covid they’ve had, they say, ‘I’ve had four’, for example, of the flu. He doesn’t remember, because he doesn’t sit down to count them. At the moment, the Covid vaccine is like the flu: it will be done every year and we will not measure doses”, he then emphasized.
Who should wear a mask?
“The mask is a tool at this time, now that we don’t have pressure on the hospitals,” pointed out the assistant professor of Hygiene and Epidemiology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
“All the vulnerable and vulnerable must wear a mask when coming together, those who have symptoms whether they are positive or not, so that they do not transmit Covid and other respiratory diseases. Also if we are infected with Covid, five days of isolation and the following days mandatory with a mask”, he emphasized.
Exacerbation of respiratory infections
When asked if organisms have now become weaker and viruses more resistant, Dr. Majorkinis said that because we are now more sophisticated, we do tests, and the registration is longer.
“If we remove Covid, in relation to the rest of the respiratory system we are at pre-Covid levels. It won’t go away, we have to learn to live with Covid. We are in the winter outbreak of respiratory infections”, concluded Gikas Majorkinis.
Increased demand and drug shortages
Meanwhile, the outbreak of the coronavirus and viruses has caused increased demand for tests, but also for antiviral drugs. In addition, there are shortages in specific formulations.
Demand for diagnostic tests has increased tenfold, as pharmacists report. They note that there are shortages of pediatric drugs and antibiotics, where the biggest problem is.
Traffic is particularly high, reminiscent of pandemic times, and the phones at pharmacies are ringing non-stop from citizens with symptoms asking for advice, ERT reported.
Source: in.gr
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