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A low number of cases is not given to us once and for all. We can count on a three-month break between successive waves of COVID-19 cases – said Dr. Paweł Grzesiowski, an expert of the Supreme Medical Council for COVID-19, at the conference.
- The epidemiological situation in Poland is improving every day. The number of new COVID-19 cases in recent times is increasingly less than 100
- Yet another wave is inevitable. According to experts, it will reach us in about three months
- As Dr. Paweł Grzesiowski notices for the first time, the only effective way to avoid infection is vaccination
- Vaccines are effective despite the emergence of new variants of the coronavirus, says the immunologist
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage.
The balance of the fight against COVID-19 is not a winner
The Supreme Medical Chamber organized a conference to summarize the state of the pandemic and present conclusions for the future. Dr. Paweł Grzesiowski emphasized that although the downward trend in the number of cases and deaths due to COVID-19 still persists, the first signs of an increase are already appearing, because we are more mobile, because many people have forgotten about prevention. Another wave of cases that we can expect, in his opinion, will be in mid-September or early October.
The NRL expert emphasized that in order to talk about the guidelines for the future, it is necessary to make a balance sheet of the past and present. – The balance is not victorious: 150 thousand. redundant deaths, 15 million cases. This is a balance of failure in the fight against the virus – he said, emphasizing that we cannot ignore the consequences – for citizens, but also for the health care system – of the fact that many people are struggling and will continue to struggle with chronic ailments after COVID-19.
According to Grzesiowski, such a scale of a pandemic could be avoided if we adopted an active, rather than passive or reactive, strategy to fight the virus. If the state were to prevent infections, and not merely watch them grow and adapt the infrastructure – often only on paper – to the rising tide of the disease.
– Too late decisions, too sluggishly introduced restrictions, ineffective management of the most severe cases, i.e. forced organization of covid beds, did not end successfully – he pointed out. He said that it is therefore necessary to “properly prepare hospitals for the next wave of diseases, to designate covid hospitals in advance and equip them appropriately, as well as to introduce a division into covid hospitals and those that will be able to function normally and treat patients with other diseases.”
Dr. Grzesiowski emphasized that in the next wave we should solve the problem of the lack of uniform positions of medical experts regarding therapeutic and diagnostic guidelines, which would significantly improve the quality of care for COVID-19 patients. At the organizational level, in his opinion, it would be advisable to establish a Pandemic Management Center, because still, after more than a year, we do not have a center that would be a decision-making center, we only have individual people who inform us about decisions.
On the other hand, he positively assessed the implementation of the border protection system as an important element of preventing the rapid spread of the virus. – If we let a lot of people in with the virus, we will have what happened last spring. We have to guard the borders: quarantine upon arrival, tests. We should not give up on this – he said.
- Top 15 questions about the second dose of the vaccine. The specialists answer
Dr. Grzesiowski emphasized that “the only proven method of prevention is universal vaccination, which is effective despite the emergence of new variants of the coronavirus”. He emphasized the importance of investing in vaccinations and any form of promotion. However, the greatest emphasis should be placed on education, because many people do not understand what disease COVID-19 is. “Someone who is not afraid of the disease, is not tested, or treated or vaccinated,” he said.
The expert presented data showing the degree of vaccination of the medical profession. It turns out that in almost all of them it amounts to nearly 90 percent. or even over. The infamous exception are medical assistants, but due to their insignificant number (several hundred people, in addition they are workers from across the eastern border), it does not matter much for the overall situation. There is a good chance that within a few weeks the percentage of vaccinated doctors – this is the profession that protects themselves best against the virus – will approach 95%.
Vaccines protect against severe COVID-19 and death
Dr. Grzesiowski assured that the Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines almost equally protect against death and severe disease caused by coronavirus infection, even in the Delta variant. He added that “there is a problem with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because here we have one dose and it is already said that a second dose will most likely be needed.”
- Germany recommends mixing vaccines against COVID-19
He also added that the scientific world is considering whether to give a second dose of this vaccine or whether these people should be vaccinated with an RNA vaccine, which would be most beneficial from an immunological point of view. Similar considerations apply to a possible third dose for people who have received the two-dose schedule: those who have been vaccinated with mRNA preparations may need to take a vectored third dose vaccine as a third to stimulate the immune system in a slightly different way.
Also read:
- You will now take your second dose at any point. How to do it?
- What do convalescents need to know before going to vaccination?
- Can different vaccines be mixed? The position of the Supreme Medical Chamber
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