Francesco Zambon, from the WHO in Treviso: “I start all over the medicine of the territory”

There is already talk of a super expert role in pandemic emergencies.
«It is too early to say, the top management of the USU Marca Trevigiana will decide. I humbly place myself at the service of the tasks entrusted to me in the area of ​​territorial medicine, the pivot of the health reform envisaged by the Pnrr. There is great excitement around this area, which includes the promotion of health and primary care, the prevention of diseases even in those who are well, to keep everyone in good health in the best possible way. The great novelty of this Pnrr mission 6 is the restructuring of local medicine and the ability to bring citizens closer to the health system ».

In short, he launches into the new adventure with the same enthusiasm as ever. But why territorial medicine, after having contributed to managing world health?
«Because in Italy I specialized in Community Medicine and in Sweden in Social Medicine, I obtained a PhD in Programming Sciences from the University of Padua and attended a Masters in Management in America. Having said that, I am happy to start over in a different area after a rather intense period due to the events related to the WHO and the Bergamo investigation, which saw me involved on three occasions between December 2020 and November 2021 for depositions relating to the Plan pandemic (written in 2006 and never updated by the Ministry of Health, as reported by the dossier prepared by Zambon but censored by the WHO itself 24 hours later, ndr). With the preliminary investigations closed, we await the final report. I also participated in the commission of inquiry of the Lombardy Region as a person informed on the facts ».

Did you sue WHO?
“Yes, to the headquarters in Geneva, for forcing me to resign and for not having protected one of his employees who had reported an offense, precisely the non-renewal of the Italian pandemic plan and the pressures I suffered to withdraw the dossier in which my research group pointed this out. Multiple retaliations have been unleashed against me, on various fronts and in different ways. It will be a long and painful battle, but I do not stop: I want the WHO to become a more independent and transparent structure and that in the event of future other pandemics the management will be different. The opportunity to change their face could be the re-election scheduled this month of the director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the only candidate ».

What did you do in this “sabbatical” year?
«I studied, followed very closely the evolution of the pandemic in Italy and in the world and the relative measures to counter it, I wrote the book“ Il Pesce piccolo. A story of viruses and secrets “, already in its fourth reprint, and following my own and Bergamo’s legal events”.

When did you start working for the Treviso Local Health Authority?
«I believe already this month. I am happy to be back to work, but I also want justice to be done, the Italians deserve it, so I will continue to carry on my battles. As long as someone does not prove me wrong, I will fight, it is part of my character, I do not allow myself to be intimidated by anything or anyone. Thousands of people have died because of someone’s mistakes and we can never forget that ».

Did you also write your book to prevent history from being forgotten?
“Yup. And I am pleased that it is one of the best-selling books on the pandemic: not for the proceeds, but because it is right that citizens know what happened and approach WHO, understand what it does and who works there. It must no longer be an entity descended from above and untouchable, the push to change it must come from the people. Despite my horrendous story due to indefensible leaders, I still believe that WHO is fundamental, but not as it is formulated now ».

Let’s talk about Covid: from May 1st, no more masks in shops, bars, restaurants. What do you think?
«The slowdown in the containment measures of Sars-Cov2 at this stage is right and inevitable, we must go back to life. With a contagious variant like Omicron 2 wearing the surgical mask doesn’t make much sense, but the Ffp2 does. The mask indoors and in situations of gathering even outdoors, together with the continuous hygiene of the hands that unfortunately is being lost, remain the only safeguards for us and for others “.

So it was necessary to prolong the use of the mask in all closed environments?
“After two years, people must be made responsible: by now everyone knows how to take Covid, there is no need to continue to impose the protections, they can adopt them on their own. The official number of new cases is lower than the actual one, many do the tampon do it yourself incorrectly, many others if affected by mild symptoms are not controlled at all and so on. However, the number of deaths remains constant, which in any case will decrease, because now the population enjoys good immunity between vaccinated and cured, it is no longer susceptible to the virus as it was at the beginning “.

In short, mask always in your pocket?
«Yes, together with sanitizers. It must become a natural habit, as it was for Asians even before the pandemic. It must not be a stigma, but a rule of life and hygiene to be adopted in situations at risk, which we have learned to recognize ».

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