Coronavirus – “Black cloud of uncertainty” looming over Christmas

The Greek Government is on the lookout for Christmas, in an effort to avoid the worst. November tends to be a “black” month as infections are climbing and unfortunately the same goes for people who lose the battle with the coronavirus. The campaign launched by the competent bodies in order to raise the coveted wall of immunity, is in progress and everyone hopes for the best possible result.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, however, has clarified that there is no possibility of imposing measures on vaccinated citizens. And all this just before the Christmas holidays that businessmen and citizens are looking forward to take a breath.

Unfortunately, as mentioned above, before the end of November, the death toll in our country has exceeded 1,180 dead in November. During the same period last year, when we did not have the vaccine, the death toll from coronavirus was limited to 712. Simply put, deaths in the first 20 days of November last year increased by more than 60% this year.

Tragic count

The number of intubated people increased to 594, as EODY announced yesterday, Saturday. Of these, 493 are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated and 101 are fully vaccinated. In 5,991 cases, while in the last 24 hours and 69 deaths were recorded.

The new laboratory-confirmed cases of the disease recorded in the last 24 hours are 5,991, of which 4 were identified after checks at the country’s gates. The total number of cases is 874,812 (daily change + 0.7%), of which 50.6% are men.

Based on the confirmed cases of the last 7 days, 108 are considered to be related to travel from abroad and 3,239 are related to an already known case.

The new deaths of patients with COVID-19 are 69, while since the beginning of the epidemic a total of 17,237 deaths have been recorded. 95.3% had underlying disease and / or were 70 years and older.

The number of patients treated by intubation is 594 (60.8% men). Their median age is 65 years. 84.2% have an underlying disease and / or age 70 years and older. Among intubated patients, 493 (83%) are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated and 101 (17%) are fully vaccinated. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 3,437 patients have been discharged from the ICU.

The admission of new Covid-19 patients to the hospitals of the territory is 452 (daily change -7.38%). The average seven-day admission is 438 patients. The median age of cases is 38 years (range 0.2 to 106 years), while the median age of death is 78 years (range 0.2 to 106 years).

“We must be prepared”

The philosophy of the Government, as it was imprinted by the lips of the Minister of Health, Thanos Plevris, is that we are not going to go to lockdown type restrictions, either general or special. The measures that will be taken will be measures that will limit the mobility of the unvaccinated, but will not be punitive, he said.

As Mr. Plevris pointed out, 85% of those in the ICU are unvaccinated. “Plans are constantly made for ICU beds, so that there are no shortages. The NHS still endures. We are not going to close down.”

He also clarified that “as long as this situation exists, measures will be taken. The desire of the government is not to reach a complete restriction of the unvaccinated in social and economic activities. We will insist in this direction, but whatever measures are needed will not be punitive for that part of the population that had chosen to be vaccinated and dare not putting pressure on the NHS. ”

Regarding the increased deaths, the minister speaking to SKAI television, explained that “the dead are related to the vaccination coverage. Therefore, by limiting mobility, we act protectively. ”

As for the vaccinated, he clarified that no other measures will be taken. “In the non-vaccinated areas, on the grounds that they are not as at risk of disease as the unvaccinated, no further restrictive measures are considered.”

“Every effort is being made…”

For his part, the general secretary of Primary Health, Marios Themistokleous, speaking to ANT1 television, essentially did not rule out the possibility that Greece will finally be forced to implement a general lockdown in the next period.

“The intention is not to undertake a lockdown, because this also has its own side effects”, said Mr. Themistocleous, however he left a “window” open saying that “every effort is made not to go to lockdown and the only way to avoid this, is vaccination “.

Therefore, as long as the vaccination coverage rate remains low and the situation worsens, no possibility of pandemic wave containment is ruled out.

“With the third dose we build our defense”

The only optimistic thing about the above shocking data is the fact that vaccinations against covid-19 show an increase after measures are taken to stop the pandemic, for both the first and the third dose, while a new boost is expected in the following days.

Already from the previous measures it seems that there is a tension in the vaccinations. Scheduled appointments until yesterday (for all vaccine doses) exceed 900,000.

Especially the third dose is moving at a very satisfactory pace and the message given by the option to expire the vaccination certificate at 7 months for those over 60 from December 13, is that these populations who are in an age group and at risk much more they should rush to be vaccinated.

Every day in the last week, on average, about 70,000 citizens make appointments for the third installment. A further boost is expected after the opening of the platform at emvolio.gov.gr, for the timely scheduling of an appointment for the booster dose 15 days earlier than the completion of 6 months from the second installment. It is estimated that the appointments will exceed 90,000. More than 900,000 people have already been vaccinated with the third dose.

Stelios Loukidis, professor of Pulmonology, spoke to “MEGA Weekend” tv show about the importance of the third dose in building immunity. “We are in a difficult position right now. Certainly the percentage of unvaccinated people being treated today or exhibiting a more severe form of illness is the leading rate in this pandemic crisis. We see that there is declining immunity to the vaccine over a period of time, estimated at 6 months. If, at the moment, we close them in or they lock us in is something we must avoid, because we are entering into a divisive approach to the issue.”

“If we reach a point where we find ourselves in a major impasse, I believe we will take measures like those taken by European countries. The issue is that we will suspend some pieces so as not to get there. I think lockdown is one of the issues that will be raised at the table, but it will probably be raised in a different way that we have experienced in previous years. We are not only doctors, but people of the society and we can see the problems of the society “.

Aiming to achieve herd immunity

The president of the Panhellenic Medical Association, Athanasios Exadaktylos, gave his own explanation behind the increase in vaccinations and the data that are now valid for achieving the herd’s immunity.

As he estimated, speaking to SKAI, the unvaccinated people who started their vaccination in the last few days, were not motivated by the suggestions of the health workers but by the “daily presence of the deaths next to them”, he explained.

“It’s bitter to say, but it’s a reality. “We will continue to advise them and respond to the reasonable fears and questions they have in order to do what is necessary to protect them,” he added.

Regarding the immunity of the herd, the doctor agreed that at some point the coronavirus cases will concern us like some sort of common cold, however he clarified that this will become a reality under certain conditions: “It is not enough to reach 7-8 million vaccinated in 12 or 18 months . We must all be vaccinated at the same time,” he said, adding that we are at a time when the defense of those already vaccinated should be renewed.