The Omicron variant in Italy is already over 70%. “Soon there will be a new survey on the variants, but the national situation sees Omicron on average already over 70%, even if there are also patchy situations. For example in Tuscany, in the new cases we find practically only Omicron which is certainly over 80%, “Mauro Pistello, director of the virology unit of the university hospital of Pisa, vice president of the Italian Society of Microbiology, one of the founders of the sequencing network of the Higher Institute of Health (Iss).
“It is clear that the figure reported by the ‘photograph’ taken on December 20 and presented on December 23, with Omicron at 28%, is now exceeded“Warns Pistello.
MINI QUARANTINE – According to the virologist, the possibility of a reduction in the quarantine for contacts, vaccinated, of positive Covid “may seem like a gamble, but if you evaluate the cost-benefit ratio and take advantage of the experience accumulated with other viruses , it is a risk that at this moment we can also run in order not to block some activities in the country “.
“We know that if a vaccinated person becomes infected, their ability to infect is low – Pistello recalls – We must be fully aware of Omicron’s contagiousness, but we must also know that the third dose raises our protection. If I took the second dose in September-October I still have a margin of defense – he specifies – but if I did it in May I am no longer covered and I have to do the recall “.
SWABS – Pistello then warns that “there is the risk that soon there will be no reagents to make swabs and sequencing, is a worldwide problem linked to the lack of raw materials. Indeed, if the whole world strengthens its screening capabilities, a huge demand is created. Because of this there shouldn’t be a rush to the tampon which at this moment is not always useful, I am also thinking of the many no-vaxes who take the test to get the Green pass “.
On the possibility of increasing the sequencing of cases also to better trace the variants, Pistello recalls “that more could be done, but in other States they have invested a lot of resources. We do a tracing that from the point of view of statistical significance is sufficient” .