Filenews 1 August 2021 - by Marilena Panagi
Two weeks after its launch, the "Let's Discuss" Facebook page of the Federation of Patients' Associations of Cyprus - adopted and promoted by the Ministry of Health - continues to receive dozens of questions every day from citizens who raise their questions, concerns and fears, in some cases, before the ten experts who offer their services free of charge in the "keep your distance" campaign. '''Be careful... is simple", of the Federation.
Most of the questions submitted concern people's personal concerns concerning various health problems they face and cause them concern about the possibility of vaccination, while the hundreds of questions received so far by the OSAC include some that come from people who question vaccines and their effectiveness or even the pandemic itself.
Remarkable, however, is the fact that the number of posts, questions, opinions raised and coming from people who question vaccines and/or the existence of the coronavirus is extremely small and is limited to only a few dozen, which confirms the need of Cypriot citizens for healthy dialogue and responses related to serious concerns and concerns.
Most of the questions are answered in detail by the scientists who participate in the team of experts of the campaign and currently participates the management team of the page, has not proceeded to any act of censorship of posts since it has not been necessary. Even in cases where the questions are aggressive, citizens are not diverted or there have been cases in which, when they received their answer from some of the ten experts (depending on the content of their questions), they came back expressing their satisfaction.
Individual cases, of course, of unsatisfied citizens are also recorded, but a feature of the debate that takes place through the OSAC page is the mutual respect between citizens and scientists, which also confirms the need for dialogue, around all issues relating to the pandemic.
The substance of the content of citizens' questions, in addition to the purely personal health issues they face, concerns a great deal about the effects of vaccines and vaccination on fertility, (which is of course scientifically contradicted), the need or not to vaccinate children, mainly because of the public debate that has been under way in the previous days) , the need to administer a third dose of vaccine to elderly and vulnerable groups of the population, as well as procedural issues related to how to issue SafePass online, how to arrange vaccination appointments, etc. with these questions answered by the officials of the Ministry of Health, via the "let's discuss" page, within 24 hours.
Interestingly, in recent days, citizens have started asking more questions about antibody tests and whether they are reliable and relieve the need for vaccination or not.
Examples of questions we took from the page. It is worth mentioning that all ten experts involved in the campaign, give their answers branded and without twists:
Q: "I greet you and thank you for your time!!! on vaccination of children 16-17 years old who do not have much data in front of us I would like to ask..."
-Re: "The data before us tell us that the benefit of children of this age is greater if they make the vaccine than the likelihood that they will not do so and get sick. Millions of vaccines have already been made to children of this age and it has been adopted by the vast majority of European countries." (Adamos Hatzipanagis)
Q: "Hello. I want to ask something about MRNA vaccines against covid-19. Spike antigens, which are produced by MRNA vaccines, initially appear on the surface of our cells. Then when our immune system produces the antibodies, those spikes are destroyed or stay there and our body considers our cells to be hostile? Thanks in advance."
Re: "Hello. In fact, a very small percentage of the components of the vaccine circulate freely. As for spike protein produced after vaccination, it is expressed on only some cells, which activate the process of producing antibodies against it from our immune cells. In fact the spike does not "sit" on membranes, but is expressed in the same way that any antigens are expressed. This protein, according to the relevant literature, does not have the ability to fold in the same way that the spike protein of the virus wraps and leads to damage to other organs. Its form is devoid of the chemical properties we observe in spike protein of the virus." (Constantinos Tsoutis)
Q: "He's happy again. Maybe we should discuss this with a sociologist, I don't know... Could you explain how vaccination by individual responsibility becomes collective and how respect is shown through vaccination? If we're not talking about social feeling, then how exactly do we encourage people to get vaccinated?"
-Re: A pandemic affects the whole of society and not just individuals, so its treatment inevitably needs to be done systemically and on multiple levels, from the individual to the social. My approach would be for each person to consider how vaccination fits into their own merit system - the person cares about the common good, if so, then they may decide to be vaccinated to help humanity (towards social behaviour). For another person for whom the most important is his own health, then he can choose to be vaccinated for his own individual shield." (Maria Karekla)
Q: "Hello and thank you for answering questions for free. 1. When someone becomes sick, do several doctors not administer any antibiotics, only painkillers? Especially colchicine helps. 2. No one refers to the long covid? Several patients who have been sick have remnants of the disease, including myself. No one's saying how we should help our bodies get back to normal. Is there a centre in our country where he's conducting some research on this? 3. Those who have been sick shall have an exception to enter into self-exclusion and take a rapid test. With today's mutations, even vaccinated people have a chance of getting sick. What's going on with those of us who've already been sick? 4. How do you convince those who are against vaccination to be vaccinated when they have been sick and immune for 6 months? 5. Do you also know whether of those who have been sick, they have progressed with even one dose of vaccination? Thank you so much for your time"
-Re: "1. Antibiotics do not cure covid, nor do other viral infections. Infection with bacteria that can be treated with antibiotics based on literature is <10%. So only 1 in 10 may need antibiotics. Antibiotics were initially given for their anti-inflammatory action and less for antimicrobials, but they did not prove their effectiveness in large randomised clinical studies. And colchicine was administered for its anti-inflammatory action with controversial results: it is no longer recommended for inpatient patients but can be administered selected to outpatient patients with protocol-based risk factors. 2. Yes the long covid is something that should concern us more. There are some initiatives in Cyprus but it is not enough, it needs a more organized effort. 3. The probability of re-infection remains low (<1-3%) for at least 6-8 months, although recent announcements from PHE indicate a 46% greater chance with the delta than with the alpha strain. 4. Existence of new strains that may escape natural immunity which we do not know how long it ultimately lasts and which for the time being existing vaccines protect us. 5. Several (at least within hospitals I know)" (Kostas Konstantinou)
Q: "Please, I would like you to answer some of my questions 1. If we are going through such a serious pandemic, why is it that when someone is diagnosed positive they are not evaluated by their doctor? Why is he just quarantined without assessing his health status? Shouldn't a medical examination be required? What exactly does the Hippocratic oath say and why is it not necessary to apply it? 2. Why is medication not given as soon as someone is confirmed as a case, but only people are advised to stay at home and if their oxygen drops they are hospitalized? If when this is done there are drugs, why is this tactic applied? I personally got sick at the same time as a friend of mine, we got infected by the same person, I immediately took antibiotic syrup and vitamins and Thank God I had a relatively good time, while my friend who drank only Panadol ended up in Famagusta for treatment. 3. Why does the media not inspire people but scare them? We're terrified, and that's definitely bad for recovery. Why is it not announced on the news how many have been sick and how many have been cured, except we hear about deaths, critical, etc.?»
-Ap: "1. In accordance with the protocols, notices and procedures established by the Ministry of Health since the beginning of the pandemic, when a person is diagnosed positive, the Personal Physician shall be notified to monitor his patient in accordance with clinical protocols and algorithms. Also, all announcements ask people who are positive to contact their personal physician. In any case, the release of a positive from self-limit is done through a special platform and only if the personal physician allows it. 2. No medication is given, because it has not been proven through studies, that a drug helps. Much has been tried and even in the original therapeutic protocol that we had at the beginning of the pandemic, they included hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, but in subsequent studies it appeared that not only do they not help, but may also have side effects. The antibiotic you mention does not work against SARS-CoV-2, because as we know, antibiotics do not work against viruses. 3. This is fully understood and I agree with you that the media should focus on sound and objective information. Unfortunately, however, we have nothing to do with the media other than our positions and interventions." (Constantinos Tsioutis).
Myths and realities about vaccines
The controversial issue of vaccines, on the occasion of the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic, was at the heart of an information event entitled "Vaccines: Myths and Realities", held at the Cyprus Institute.
The topic was developed by Professor George Christofides, President of the Cyprus Institute and Head of Infectious Diseases at Imperial College London, who referred to the importance of vaccines as a cornerstone for the protection of public health, the occasional questioning of vaccines, as well as the myths and realities surrounding them.
During the presentation Professor Christofides made a historical flashback to the development of the most important vaccines, starting from the 18th century until today and stressed that vaccines have always been the subject of controversy and questioning by a portion of the population in many countries. However, he stressed, in all cases, it was vaccines that saved millions of lives around the world.
Commenting on the current situation, Professor George Christofides suggested that vaccines are perhaps the only weapon against the Covid-19 pandemic and their effectiveness dispels one by one the myths, but also the conspiracy scenarios that accompany them.
Addressing those present, but also more broadly to the citizens, he indicated that they should be rushed to get vaccinated so that the suffering of the last two years can end.
We must, he noted characteristically, do so now, not only to protect ourselves and our loved ones, but especially our children, especially when we consider that schools will reopen in a month' s time.
If we are not vaccinated, professor George Christofides concluded, the situation will deteriorate again and several more of our fellow human beings will become sick or lose their lives to covid-19.
