“The new sub-variants” of Sars-CoV-2 that are emerging “must not scare, but the attention must always be a lot. Let’s not let our guard down, let’s see the monitoring with the usual 15-day cycles useful for reading this pandemic. monitoring will also tell us that ‘beast’ is “the possible new Omicron sub-lineage that could grow in the country. “And it puts us in a position to adjust the measures”. This is the vision of Guido Rasi, professor of microbiology at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and former director of the European Medicines Agency Ema and of the Italian Aifa, on how we will have to approach the coming months.
While the ECDC, European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, foresees as dominant between mid-November and early December the new sub-variant of Omicron 5, BQ.1 and its descendants (among which the one renamed Cerberus, that is BQ.1.1, stands out. ), Rasi specifies that on paper it is not possible to say much about how a variant will behave. “It is not possible – explains time.news Salute – because unfortunately today we can no longer extrapolate so much information from other countries because each population has now reached a different level of immunization from the others and it is difficult to predict the behavior of a variant based on what it happened in the neighboring country. So we’ll see. ” How long will it take to get an idea? “Usually – analyzes Rasi – two or three weeks are the cycles of knowledge. Two or three weeks, since the prevalence of the” new entry mutant “begins to rise regularly”.
SANITARY NO VAX – “The current situation does not justify not reintegrating healthcare workers not vaccinated against Covid. But I would like to ask one condition: the biggest problem is to verify their real preparation in terms of basic notions of medicine. Because, if they refuse a vaccine, the So I would do a reintegration subject to a refresher course that includes the subjects of immunology and infectious disease “. Beyond the judgment that can be had on those who wear the lab coat and choose to say no to the vaccine, for Guido Rasi, professor of microbiology at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, today in the absence of bases to say no to their reintegration in hospitals and health structures of the Peninsula, at least “their basic preparation should be tested”, he explains to time.news Salute.
The goal, reflects the former director of the European Medicines Agency Ema and of the Italian Aifa, should be “to ensure that the people who are integrated into the NHS have the fundamentals, the sufficient preparation to carry out their work. With a course that documents that they have received and that in the future may be ready to face certain situations in the right way “. Rasi gives an example: “It has nothing to do with health care, but maybe it can give an idea. In the past I happened to do a big infraction on the California highways – he says – To give me my driving license, they made me do a course where I had to answer and document that I had perfectly understood the automotive discipline of the country I was in. After that, they reinstated my driving license. the specific notions. Now – he concludes – health workers must have the basic notions to carry out their job which also has to do with public health “.
MASKS – “As usual there is no absolute rule” on anti-contagion measures. “We need to follow the pandemic a bit. The deadline of November 1 was set” for the obligation of masks in hospitals and RSA, “because it was very much in decline. At this moment we need to be ready to see the trend. two weeks, we know, an update needs to be done, and if things continue like this you can even think about removing them but with some exclusions: RSAs should absolutely maintain “the obligation to wear this protection,” and all those hospital departments where they concentrate fragile patients in waiting rooms and structures “.
“I am thinking of the oncology and chemo departments, the mask should be kept there”, reflects the expert. “Maybe in the atrium, in the corridors one can do without it, but in some situations absolutely not”. Rasi would therefore not be for an indiscriminate stop, he says, “but for a pragmatic and reasonable stop. By now we have understood what the situations are” at risk. “For example, the dialysis wards where there are patients of absolute vulnerability. In wards such as waiting rooms, of course. There where vulnerable people are known to go around” and at risk of serious forms of Covid.
WEEKLY BULLETIN – “I absolutely agree with the transformation of the Covid bulletin from daily to weekly, because a week really captures a trend, allows for any adjustments and gives credible information of a decision-making type. It really makes sense to me”. Guido Rasi, professor of microbiology at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and former director of the European Medicines Agency Ema and of the Italian Aifa, comments on the decision announced by the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci, to time.news Salute.