It’s like running on a razor’s edge. Yesterday Giorgia Meloni she was very clear in the torrential press conference in which she was bombarded with questions: “No more lockdowns and restrictions on freedom”. And for this she took our thanks. But you also spoke of “control” of the pandemic risk, complete with praise for masks and tampons, considered the first safeguards against the spread of who knows which variant.
Circular from the Ministry of Health
Said, done, the Ministry of Health led by Horace Schillaci translated into a circular what awaits us during the winter in the event of a tailspin of the virus. The document is entitled “Interventions in progress for the management of the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in the 2022-2023 winter season” and bears the signature at the bottom of Giovanni Rezza, director general of health prevention. The objective: to outline a “transition from emergency management to sustainable management” of the Covid. According to the EU, given that the “frequency of detection of the BQ.1 viral variant, characterized by a greater ability to immune-evasion, continues to increase”, it is therefore necessary to “monitor the epidemiological situation”. In fact, the “uncertainty” of the epidemiological trend would remain, due to the possible emergence of new variants, perhaps arriving from China, and to many other factors (vaccines, other viruses, closed environments) which, according to the ministry, could put us in difficulty.
The vaccine campaign
So? So here’s how the Italians thought of preparing in viale Lungotevere Ripa 1. Ensure “clear, complete and evidence-based communication”. Gather data, do genomic and wastewater surveillance. Implement the vaccination campaign, including the “sui new and adapted vaccines and on protein vaccines“, in particular towards “the elderly and frail, protecting them from serious illness and hospitalization”. Finally, the now famous “non-pharmacological interventions”. And this is where the donkey falls.
Isolation and buffers
In fact, the idea of imposing seems to return in the circular the use of masks and the ban on gatherings, which are very reminiscent of managements contiane of the epidemic. The ministry, it is not known what was approved by the minister, in fact writes that these measures have been “fundamental to limit the spread of the virus, protect vulnerable groups and reduce the pressure on health systems” (seen in China). So we will continue with “the identification of cases through tests, the isolation of positives and the targeted search for contacts”, although by now the majority of asymptomatic positive cases escape us. Even if there is some news. “Contact tracing and self-surveillance – reads the circular – should primarily be conducted and applied in individuals at risk of serious illness, high-risk settings (healthcare, nursing homes and long-term care facilities), and in situations of greatest concern”. Not in short”‘ndo lame lame“, as done to date. Furthermore, isolation is indeed “indicated” to mitigate the epidemic, but making it “recommended rather than mandatory” and also “without outgoing tests”.
The masks are back
They deserve a separate chapter masks. The circular believes that they are effective “in reducing the transmission of respiratory viruses”, also assuming the return – in the event of an “obvious” worsening of the epidemic – of the obligation to wear them in closed spaces. Not only. In the event of a “sensible” (how much?) worsening, “working from home” and “the limitation of the size of the events that foresee gatherings“. In practice: mandatory masks, stops at concerts and sporting events and smartworking.
“Although the evolution of the pandemic is currently unpredictable – concludes the ministry – our country must prepare to face a winter in which an increased welfare impact could be observed attributable to various acute respiratory diseases, first of all the flu, and to the possible circulation of new variants of SARS-CoV-2 , also determined by individual behavior and the immune status of the population”. Will we ever get out?