Doctor’s call: everyone should take a test before going to their family for Christmas

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Before the Christmas meeting with loved ones, it is necessary to perform a quick antigen test. – I recommend doing it right before the family meeting, because the test result may be negative in the morning, and positive in the afternoon – advises Bartosz Fiałek, a doctor who popularizes knowledge about COVID-19.

1. The test result will be quite reliable information as to whether or not we are infected and may be contagious with SARS-CoV-2. Performing the test significantly reduces the risk of the virus spreading
2. Bartosz Fiałek calls for the test to be taken just before meeting with the family
3. According to the doctor, unvaccinated people should not participate in family meetings. “It’s not segregating, but working in harmony with health security,” he says
4. You can find more about the coronavirus on the TvoiLokony home page

Edyta Brzozowska, Medonet: Do you also have the impression that during last year’s Christmas we were more frightened by the pandemic and more disciplined in terms of spending these days only with our loved ones?

Bartosz Fiałek, a doctor who popularizes knowledge about COVID-19: It’s true, I see some relaxation. But people are just tired of this pandemic. A year ago, we faced a great unknown. Vaccinations, i.e. a tool to protect us against falling ill and the severe course of the disease, were just entering into force, although we did not suspect that so many Poles would not want to be vaccinated yet. Today we can see that the virus is evolving and a booster has appeared in the immunization program. However, the stress last year was certainly on a much higher level, and there were much less holiday trips. On the other hand, self-isolation was much more visible, which resulted from the fear of the unknown.

1. See also: How not to catch an Omicron during the holidays? Experts tell you what to do

And the Minister of Health, Adam Niedzielski, urged to spend Christmas in a small circle of the closest family. Somehow such appeals are not heard today.

And more people choose to go on holidays, avoiding contact matters less. All this suggests that Poles will spend this year’s Christmas in a larger group.

Further part below the video.

So how to meet and be safe?

First of all, an antigen test should be performed at home for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This is a basic rule that will allow you to exclude an infection with a high degree of probability. Because I can’t imagine people sitting at the festive table wearing protective masks or keeping their distance.

When should such a test be performed?

I recommend doing it right before the family gathering. Remember that the test result may be negative in the morning and positive in the afternoon. The test result will be quite reliable information about whether we are contagious. Of course, there may be times when we find ourselves in the window between the time we are infected and contagious and the antigen test will not detect it yet. However, performing the test significantly reduces the risk of spreading SARS-CoV-2.

As for people who are immunocompetent, i.e. those with immunodeficiencies, or undergoing immunosuppressive treatment, I believe that they should not participate in meetings in a larger group. Regardless of their vaccination status, they are at high risk of developing COVID-19. My appeal for isolation may sound strange, but still – if such people still want to take part in a family gathering, they should stay away from family members and absolutely wearing a protective mask.

For them, the coronavirus is a potentially fatal disease?

Yes. Among other things, because despite being vaccinated, they may not have generated the expected level of immunity and may become ill, become infected with the new coronavirus, and, consequently, die. Therefore, we should take care of such people in a special way, and we start the dimension of this safety with ourselves – if we test for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 infection immediately before the meeting and we are negative, we will most likely protect the most vulnerable people.

Coming back to the tests: which ones do you recommend to choose?

Fast, antigenic, which we can make at home and get the result within 15 minutes. They are available in pharmacies and do not cost much: one test costs about 10-20 zlotys and they are usually sold in packs of several pieces. Such tests will be the best Christmas present. It is true that it may not be the nicest, because doing the test is not very pleasant, but it is a reasonable gift.

Thanks to it, we will most likely find out whether we are sick and can infect someone or not. Thanks to this, we can save other people’s lives as a result. When it turns out that the result is positive, we do not go to the Christmas meeting and we do not expose its participants, but we perform a confirmation test to confirm the infection and undergo a minimum 10-day isolation. However, I emphasize that such a test should be performed immediately before the scheduled meeting.

How is this test done?

A swab is inserted into the nose: a special stick with a brush. This is unpleasant because we have to reach deep, all the way to the back wall of the nasopharynx. This causes temporary irritation. But it is, of course, a completely safe method if we perform it in accordance with the instruction manual or instructional video, many of which can be viewed on the Internet.

1. Editors recommend: Omikron attacks lightning fast. How long does it take from infection to symptoms?

Taking care of their safety, many people simply avoid meeting with the unvaccinated part of the family.

And rightly so! Although it is difficult for people to dictate what to do in a given situation, from the medical and epidemiological point of view, in the context of health safety, I unequivocally recognize that meetings in large groups with unvaccinated and previously untested people are simply dangerous.

Let us remember that today we are dealing with a very infectious Delta variant and we are on the eve of fighting the – it seems – even more dangerous variant of Omikron, which is already present in Poland. This virus line of development is spreading extremely fast. In the US, in just one week, the share of the Omikron variant in causing COVID-19 increased from 12,6%. up to 73 percent This is an incredible increase, definitely exponential, and we can assume that it will be similar in Poland. Hence, I believe that unvaccinated people should not participate in family meetings. And this is not segregation or exclusion, but acting in line with health security.

For many Poles who are afraid of SARS-CoV-2 infection, participation in the Midnight Mass will be a problem. It’s safer to stay at home?

This is a very sensitive topic in Poland, so I do not like to comment on religious topics or those related to religion.

However, I claim the right to speak as a doctor: from a medical point of view, any place where people concentrate is very risky in the context of infection with the new coronavirus. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a shop, church or restaurant.

In the era of such well-transmitted variants of the new coronavirus, we should avoid all places where the application of sanitary and epidemiological rules is impossible, similar to those where the vaccination status of the current ones is not verified. In such a crowd, without the use of additional protective measures, a protective mask alone does not guarantee full protection against disease.

This may interest you:

1. Doctor from covid hospital: young, unvaccinated die
2. The scourge of infections in children. “Only one parent was vaccinated”
3. “Mom, vaccinate me, I don’t want another quarantine anymore”

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