Familiarity and living with the presence of this virus is the appropriate solution, the virus does not seem to disappear, it has already infected billions of people, said in the SIGMA show "Front Page", the Epidemiologist Ioannis Ioannidis, talking about COVID19 .
For Cyprus, he stressed, one should not feel that one is facing a problem as the number of deaths is small.
Speaking of the Delta mutation, noted that it is very contagious, however, when there are the right measures and very good vaccination coverage especially in the elderly, we do not have to deal with a serious problem with a large number of deaths.
Regarding the Homicron mutation, said it's too early to get a complete picture, however, we should not panic. He noted that even in countries that have not been identified, there has simply not been enough control, while so far it seems that it has a contagion and if it is larger than the Delta, it will prevail.
The image we have so far, he said, is to have many cases, but these are not expressed in serious incidents or deaths.
Regarding his prediction for many deaths in the spring, Mr. Ioannidis noted that for a country like Cyprus he is not pessimistic. Cyprus, he said, managed the pandemic very well, does many tests and has good vaccination coverage.
"I believe that Cyprus will do very well in both winter and spring, I think that in practice it has already entered the endemic phase."
Test in vaccinated
Regarding whether vaccinated people should be tested for the disease, he noted that vaccines are very effective in reducing serious illness and the possibility of death, however, they are moderately effective in preventing infection. That fact must be taken into account, "said Roni Bar-On, a Member of the Knesset for Kadima. "Testing only the unvaccinated is exacerbating the problem," he said.
The third dose
Regarding the third dose and if necessary, Mr. Ioannidis said that the evidence is strong for people who are immunosuppressed, as many of them have not developed good antibodies after the two doses. The absolute benefit decreases as we descend at younger ages, in individuals. Another factor, he said, is how active the epidemic wave is.
Vaccinations of children
Regarding the vaccinations of children, Mr. Ioannidis noted that when we talk about children we are talking about minimal risks from COVID19, noting that based on clinical studies there does not seem to be any problem with the vaccine. As for the chances of side effects, there does not seem to be anything so worrying at the moment. "Risks from both COVID19 and the vaccine are very rare for children," he said. Therefore, he added, we can tell parents what is available and beyond, they will have to decide for themselves whether or not to vaccinate their children, I will not force anyone to do it because we are talking about extremely low risks. "We should not demonize the vaccine, say that it kills people averta," he said.
Masks for children
Regarding the reactions of parents to the use of a mask on children over 6 years old in primary school, he noted that the measure is done with good intentions. According to tests, as he said, there is about a 10% reduction in the chance of someone catching the virus when wearing a mask, under realistic conditions of course, as it is another thing the theoretical use that would be perfect in relation to what we can achieve in a population of children. "We are talking about a small benefit that should be weighed against the overall psychology and functionality of an educational process. "I can not give an absolute position," he stressed.
My view, he added, "is that we should avoid exaggeration, on the other hand we should also avoid conflict situations and have people fighting." "In a country like Cyprus that has done very well, division and conflict must be avoided. Conflicts are made about things that are relatively insignificant in relation to the overall picture. Children are not the main problem for COVID19.
It is not worth killing someone to use the masks. "I personally use masks, but I'm not going to say that someone is a murderer if he says that his 6-year-old children do not want to wear a mask." As he said, "we must show mutual understanding and avoid tensions now that we have spent 2 years with some irrational and perhaps destructive restrictions. To show understanding to everyone. "Everyone has their theories."
Mandatory vaccination
"I am not in favor of compulsory vaccination, I think it creates more problems than it solves," he said. As he said, he is in favor of vaccination especially in people over 60, who are a huge mistake not to be vaccinated. Compulsory vaccination, he added, creates people who are already tired after two years. "Many of them have been ruined socially, economically, psychologically and on this comes the 'icing on the cake' to throw fines at them, to lose their jobs, to have to become even more marginalized." "Telling them that they are stupid, that they are destroying society, is a destructive recipe," he said.
sigmalive.com