In what we taught them 9 months of the coronavirus pandemic in a post on facebook the health policy professor at LSE, Elias Mosialos. At the same time it refers to the next steps that need to be done.
As he characteristically says “they passed approximately 9 months after being diagnosed with the new disease we now all know as COVID-19 disease. The 2020 is the year of pandemic and lockdown, which slowed down the planet's economy and affected the lives of all of us in many dimensions, vulnerable and not, parents and not, employees and non-employees ».
In a post on social media he lists 20 signs of the deadly virus.
The post by Elias Mosialos
1 COVID-19 is not "the flu" and its mortality is many times higher than the flu. For example, in the United States by 10 They died around September 196.000 people from COVID-19, while the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that they existed 24.000-62.000 flu-related deaths during 2019-2020.
2 The effects of the disease vary considerably by age group and while everyone can potentially get stuck, mortality is disproportionately high at older ages, and especially in men over 60.
3 The underlying diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and respiratory diseases, may intensify the incidence of the disease. So the underlying diseases need to be controlled.
4 The proportion of patients experiencing the disease asymptomatically is significant and this makes it difficult to control the spread. The CDC in July estimated that at least 40% of individuals infected with COVID-19 are asymptomatic.
5 The medical effects are systemic and do not only affect the respiratory system. Unfortunately, they can also be long lasting, even in asymptomatic patients.
6 The virus is transmitted both by droplets and by air, therefore needs systematic control and protection for airborne transmission and ventilation with fresh air indoors.
7 It is not a seasonal disease, but we observe less intensity in summer, and why we move outdoors, but also because we have learned to protect ourselves by applying natural distances and wearing a mask.
8 The virus has not weakened. We have more cases compared to March and April, and fewer hospital admissions. But this is because the cases concern younger people now. But if the number of cases escapes, there will be a dispersion of vulnerable and vulnerable age groups.
9 Transmission is easier indoors and where there is overcrowding and large concentrations. This requires measures to be taken to decongest indoors and provide more public transport services.. Customized job transformations need to be launched, such as fewer employees per space and encouraging teleworking, as well as access to vulnerable or vulnerable groups, to continue working from home. In schools as long as there is no reduction in the number of students per class, due to a budget problem as stated by the government, then the other measures must be strictly observed: masks, Hand hygiene and fresh air in the halls, and continuing distance education for children who belong to vulnerable groups or have parents and grandparents who belong to them.
10 We need a clear and stable national strategy and communication policy, without changing the messages but adjusting them when the scientific data changes. The fight against the pandemic is not a sprint, and it will not be a marathon either. But the battle is a race for long distance runners and they need endurance.
11 The national strategy must approach the pandemic interdisciplinary. Tackling the pandemic will be significantly improved with the contribution of public health science experts, behavior, sociology, anthropology, big data and business research.
12 Those who disagree with the measures can not be dealt with only through administrative interventions. Civil society needs to be mobilized. But this presupposes the alliance of the state with the political parties, the Local Government, employees 'and employers' bodies, and social actors. The effort must be consensual and national.
13 We have encouraging news regarding treatment, such as the use of corticosteroids - such as dexamethasone - in COVID-19 patients in critical or serious condition. Remdesivir is also a treatment for patients who need supplemental oxygen., and we are waiting for results from studies with therapeutic antibodies and other therapies. We also have better use of guidelines in ICUs resulting in a reduction in ICU mortality for all age groups.
14 We also learned that two drugs that were previously advertised as "saviors" are far from honoring the title, because they do not work. Addition of azithromycin and hydroxychloroquine to treatment did not improve clinical outcomes.
15 We know that in terms of immunity, for example in Iceland, the vast majority of patients tested had developed antibodies at least four months after diagnosis.
16 The countries that sought to achieve herd immunity, either directly or indirectly, failed. In Sweden, with looser measures initially this was not achieved and less than 10% of the population became infected with the virus.
17 We could follow the Swedish example; Yes, under the following conditions:
- if the 50% of workers in March was on a teleworking basis as in Sweden
- if we had the low density of the Swedish population
- if a large percentage of workers went to work by bicycle or on foot
- if we had the structure of the Swedish family, that the elderly do not live with their grandchildren and about 50% are single-parent families
- if the citizens had the same confidence in the institutions as the Swedes and followed almost all the instructions of the experts
- if we had accepted to have the cost in human lives, approaching 6.000 in Sweden.
18 We saw the weaknesses of the welfare state in Greece: an inadequate infrastructure education system and a health system with many functional gaps. Significant efforts have been made to strengthen the health system but structural changes are now needed. We must become a welfare state based on essential and quality services.
19 Stopping clinical trials for the Oxford vaccine is not a step backwards, is a control point of the study. It is positive that there is transparency. We may have a vaccine in the coming months but much will depend on safety, the effectiveness of the vaccine, the duration of immunity and the percentage of the population to be vaccinated.
20 We are better prepared for the next phase. We know that public health measures work. We have some means of treatment and better infrastructure in the health system, and flu vaccinations will be given in a timely manner. But returning to work must be carefully planned. There should be systematic monitoring in schools and greater availability and adequacy in diagnostic tests.
Source: iefimerida.gr
