Panagis Galiatsatos, professor of Pulmonology at John Hopkins, spoke about the Omicron mutation that is sweeping Greece and the protection offered by vaccines, while he also made an assessment of when the pandemic will end.
"We see many who have had the vaccine and received the booster dose, stuck and passed it just fine", said the professor at Mega and added that in the hospital most of the patients who are treated have not been vaccinated.
According to him, if someone who has taken the third dose becomes ill, he will pass the disease like a cold:
"We can change something serious into something simpler, like a cold."
Vaccines, the professor stressed, work in variants and the masks provide protection. According to his own assessment, he believes that in 6 to 8 months, ie around the summer, people will have got rid of the pandemic, however COVID will remain. The two tools that will put an end to the pandemic are vaccination and masks, so that hospitals are not "choked" by hospitalizations.
"We know the vaccine works if you have enough antibodies. "If someone has been vaccinated and the months go by, the antibodies drop and if you catch the virus it can destroy you." he said.
In addition, he stressed that those who have taken the third dose may not need to take the fourth dose.
Regarding children, he said that Omicron is expanding to these ages, as many children are stuck and recommended that we can have life, but with caution.
Mr. Galiatsatos is against the lockdown and in favor of informing the citizens:
"I think in the beginning the lockdown was needed, we did not know the biology of the virus. Two years have passed and we already know a lot. No lockdown needed, we need chat. "Man will stop the pandemic."
In fact, the professor rang the alarm bell, saying that if more are not vaccinated, there is a high chance that a new mutation, worse than Omicron, will "spring up".
Regarding the anti-coronavirus drugs, he stated that they are quite heavy:
"Medications are not simple, they are serious and have many side effects, which for me I will not simply give to a patient. The side effects of the vaccines are few. The best antibodies we can get are those from vaccines. ", he said.