The document prepared with the support of the ISS: “Likely an increase in pressure on laboratories”. Case isolation remains one of the key measures. On vaccines: continue to secure the elderly and frail as a priority
The evolution of the pandemic is unpredictable, the country prepares itself by strengthening surveillance systems and increasing genomic sequencing to detect new variants of the SarsCoV2 virus. The new circular that the Ministry of Health released today recommends it, also in light of the increase in cases arriving from China: elaborated with the support of the Higher Institute of Health, after consulting the Regions through the Interregional Prevention Coordination (CIP ), contains interventions for the management of the circulation of Covid in the 2022/2023 winter season.
Masks and smart working
If the situation were to worsen, the masks would return indoors, today mandatory only in the healthcare environment: it is one of the operational indications that the ministry provides, recalling that «The use of masks is effective in reducing the transmission of respiratory viruses and in the event that an evident epidemiological worsening with serious clinical impact and/or on the functioning of welfare services is documented, their use in closed spaces could be indicated, aimed in particular at protecting people at high risk of serious illness”. Ensuring ventilation in closed environments remains an always valid recommendation, while the implementation of smart working and the limitation of gatherings are measures that could be taken into consideration “in cases of any significant worsening of the epidemiological picture”.
The laboratories
Understanding which viruses are circulating is another important aspect. It will be «essential to ensure a sufficient sequencing volume to monitor the viruses in circulation and the emergence of new variants and an adequate diagnostic capacity of the laboratories. Therefore, it is strongly recommended, at least in hospitals and emergency rooms, to collect samples to be subjected to molecular testing, to guarantee a minimum number of samples to be genotyped in each Region», reads the document. The spread of seasonal flus is complicating the situation. In the winter period 2022-2023, underlines the Ministry of Health “an increase in pressure on laboratories both for diagnostics, but also more generally on virological surveillance networks is likely due to a greater seasonal circulation of respiratory viruses, and it is necessary that mechanisms to strengthen the systems in force are envisaged”.
Self-surveillance and isolation
The circular also refers to non-pharmacological interventions, which “have proven to be essential for limiting the spread of the virus”. In this regard, it is emphasized that “contact tracing and self-monitoring should be conducted and applied primarily in individuals at risk of serious illness, high-risk settings, and in situations of greatest concern (e.g., an emerging variant). In this regard, it should be remembered that in the various European countries – reads the circular – the isolation of cases (recommended rather than mandatory, with or without outgoing tests) continues to be indicated as one of the possible measures to mitigate the epidemic “. Home management of patients with SarsCoV2 infection is also recommended, which “currently allows early management of the infection by limiting the overload of healthcare facilities”.
The vaccination campaign
The ministry underlines how the vaccine remains one of the fundamental control systems: “The objective of the vaccination campaign will be to continue to put the elderly and frail in safety as a priority, protecting them from serious illness and hospitalization”, it reads, and priority is ” the continuation of the ongoing vaccination campaign, filling the gaps in the vaccination coverage of the primary cycle and the recommended boosters and maintaining sufficient vaccination capacity”. The ministry recalls “the possibility of combining vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 and influenza”, and “the development of vaccination programs with adapted vaccines, identifying priority population groups and ensuring that there is sufficient availability of doses. Also important is “the implementation of effective communication strategies to promote the intake of booster doses, the completion of the primary series and the campaign on new and adapted vaccines and protein vaccines”. At the same time, information campaigns “should also be aimed at encouraging the use of anti-flu vaccines for people at risk”.
The risk of impact on the hospital system
But it cannot be ruled out that the epidemic could explode again: «Although the evolution of the pandemic is currently unpredictable, our country must prepare itself to face a winter in which an increased welfare impact attributable to various acute respiratory diseases could be observed , first of all the flu, and the possible circulation of new variants of SARS-CoV-2, also determined by individual behavior and the immune status of the population”. The latest Gimbe reports already testify to this trend: despite the downward trend of Covid infections, the situation in hospitals worsens. And that is why it is “it is essential that the regional health services verify and, if necessary, strengthen the state of preparation in order to deal with a possible increase in the demand for assistance for SarsCoV2 cases”. It means not being caught unprepared for beds, hospital protocols, the supply of consumables, instruments, devices, diagnostics, drugs, vaccines, but also the availability of trained and continuously updated healthcare personnel.
December 30, 2022 (change December 30, 2022 | 1:26 pm)
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