Omicron’s sub-variants 4 and 5 “are already at about 70% in South Africa from where they started, and nothing suggests that they do not arrive in Italy as has happened for all the other” previous variants. “It means that in the short term, unless additional” mutants more advantageous for the Sars-CoV-2 virus emerge, “these two sub-variants will be dominant” also in the Peninsula “and will penetrate the population massively.” Arnaldo Caruso, president of the Italian Society of Virology (Siv-Isv), confesses to Ruetir Salute “somewhat worried”, who urges us to “foresee a series of important preventive measures” in order to face the next autumn-winter without emergencies. In particular, to “strengthen the territory, to be able to manage” after summer “more at home, as we should now learn to do – he warns – to avoid congesting hospitals”.
While the United States envisages a wave of Omicron sub-variants for over 100 million cases for the cold season, Caruso is still keen to specify that “this eventuality will certainly not be as bad and serious as the previous ones, but it risks making many people sick, some of which they will inevitably develop more serious forms by virtue of particular health and vulnerability conditions. This is because the new sub variants of Omicron pierce the antibody shield – recalls the expert – and therefore are necessarily formidable, because they are capable of reinfecting even those who already is infected with Omicron itself “.
“For heaven’s sake, in the majority of cases they will cause trivial colds, flu symptoms – points out the ordinary of microbiology and clinical microbiology at the University of Brescia and director of the laboratory of microbiology of the Asst Spedali Civili – However, it is not excluded that we can fear a crowding of emergency rooms and hospitals “by the most vulnerable,” and this obviously requires planning “. The number one of Italian virologists invites us to “work with general practitioners so that they can offer home care, also thanks to the antiviral drugs they can prescribe to prevent the most serious forms” of Covid-19.
VACCINATION – For the autumn vaccination against Covid-19, one point is firm, according to the president of virologists: “I would say that the obligation for health professionals must be maintained, because it is important that operators carry out a diagnosis and treatment in the interests of the patient and therefore protect themselves to protect the most vulnerable. We must ensure that healthcare professionals understand how the vaccine is crucial not so much for them, but precisely for their most vulnerable patients. This is a duty of all of us – he observes – but we know that unfortunately this duty is not felt by everyone and therefore the obligation will probably be necessary “. There should be no imposition, however, for the other categories.
In view of the arrival, hoped for by September, of new updated vaccines against the circulating variants of Sars-CoV-2 in the Omicron version, the Minister of Health Roberto Speranza has proposed a possible extension of the booster and Caruso agrees. Who to do it to? “Certainly those who have less than optimal health conditions, even from an immune point of view, will be taken into consideration first – says the expert – The risk categories are always the same. The case-by-case evaluation is up to the attending physician, but not I would deviate from the groups provided for by the flu vaccination, in order to secure the people who need it most. As for everyone else, I think that the vaccine can be offered free of charge to all, left to the individual will “.
