08/26/2020 - 11:28
- Clarín.com
- Society
Omar Sued, president of the Argentine Society of Infectology and advisor to the Government regarding measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic, warned that social gatherings in closed places are unlikely to be enabled before the Covid-19 vaccine is ready.
" We are not going to be able to talk about social gatherings in closed places until the vaccine is ready, " said the infectologist in dialogue with Futurock , adding: "Christmas with 50 people gathered will not happen, because the key is to take care of yourself."
In contrast to the Buenos Aires Minister of Health, Fernán Quirós, who recommended outdoor meetings to the population in order to avoid conglomerations in closed spaces, Sued stressed that "although outdoor meetings are less serious than in closed spaces", the risk of contagion is also high.
"If you get together on the sidewalk to chat and have a beer with your friends, you are going to get infected anyway. We already had outbreaks in Villa Azul and Villa 1-11-14 due to football matches," he remarked.
Regarding the development of an effective vaccine to combat the coronavirus pandemic, he stressed that "the amount of progress that has been made is wonderful", although he warned that " there is no certainty that these vaccines work 100 percent ", and therefore " you have to be patient so that they pass all the testing phases. "
"The Pfizer vaccine is being supplied to 4,500 volunteers in the country and for now there are no complications. Astrazeneca's, which is the most advanced, is not being tested in Argentina, but its production is already starting up. If in January or February it is shown that it works, we will have a vaccine ready, "he added.
On the other hand, he referred to the possibility of a tightening of restrictions: "There is scope to go back a phase, as long as the situation is serious. From March 20 until now, there has been an increase in activities and circulation. That's why I think there is no more quarantine. But if we reach 80 or 90 percent of beds occupied, we will have to go back with the reopening . "
And he added: "Restrictions serve and we must be aware of the benefit they produce. That in the AMBA (Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires), despite the circulation, there are cases that are plagued and with a tendency to decrease, it is thanks to the fact that many people make an effort not to catch it. "
Finally, he analyzed the multiplication of coronavirus cases throughout the country: "The fatigue of the people moved to the provinces and there the outbreaks are more aggressive , since there is less infrastructure for monitoring and fewer personnel to attend to the patients ".
PJB