Filenews 21 October 2021
It is only a matter of time before the Delta+ mutation comes to Cyprus, estimates the epidemiologist Dr. Michalis Voniatis, who calls on people to continue to be vaccinated so that we have the shield of protection from high vaccination coverage. At the same time, he says flu cases will increase this Winter because the flu virus was hardly released last year and immunity in the population fell.
In his statements, Dr. Voniatis mentioned that Delta+ is a mutation, which we have known since June and which we can essentially say can penetrate mainly into the unvaccinated populations and cause an outbreak of the pandemic.
This of course, he notes, will depend on whether we increase our vaccination coverage more quickly because this mutation is covered by vaccines.
Asked, he said delta+ did not come to Cyprus at the moment but it is only a matter of time before he does. "We are just monitoring it and tests are being done both locally and those sent to the European Centre for Control and Communicable Diseases," he said.
However, the fact that Delta+ has prevailed in England, he noted, is only a matter of time before it comes to Cyprus. "There is communication free, air connection so it's only a matter of time and that's why we have to be vigilant and watch because we don't yet know what its impact will be even though in the UK and the US they see a significant increase in cases," he said. "In the UK they have also had an increase in deaths and there is a question mark over the morbidity caused by Delta+," he added.
He pointed out that it is somewhat more contagious than delta but not at a frightening point. Already, he noted, Delta was quite contagious so it prevailed for a long time and did not allow any other mutation to proceed.
An increase in coronavirus cases is expected in winter
Dr. Voniatis said that in winter we will see an increase in coronavirus cases.
"At the moment we do not see a decrease in cases and this is not pleasant because if this trend continues, with our confinement indoors in the winter months we will see an increase and especially in the children who are the most exposed at the moment. It is for this reason that our call is for parents to be vaccinated in order to protect their children as well. And we're talking about children under 12," he noted.
There will be increased cases of influenza during the winter months
Dr. Voniatis also said that we will have increased cases of flu during the winter months.
"What worries us most about the flu issue is that already in the U.S. there has been an increase in flu cases compared to 2020 of 23%, which is a significant increase. We should monitor this for Cyprus. Everyone should be vaccinated for the flu whether they belong to vulnerable groups or elderly people because it is a good protection measure," he added.
He explained that the flu virus last year was hardly released at all, with the result that over time immunity in the population drops and begins to circulate. After all, in many countries, he said, personal protection measures have been relaxed which helps the transmission of the flu virus.
"We will definitely have more respiratory virus infections but we are more concerned about the flu, which is a serious illness that can even have pneumonitis and respiratory failure. Of course, other respiratory infections from microbes should be taken into account that they will be increased during the winter. The other vaccine that is useful for people over 65 and people who belong to vulnerable groups - and everything is always done on the advice of the personal doctor - is the pneumococcal vaccine," he said.
Asked, he said that last year we did not have any serious cases of influenza. "The last time we had enough deaths was from December 2018 to March 2019. We had a total of 19 deaths from influenza A and that was somewhat intense compared to many years when we had from zero to three deaths a year. I hope that this year we will not have deaths. If we have high vaccination coverage this is prevented. In 2018-2019 we did not have high vaccination coverage for the flu vaccine," he added.
Alarming situation in schools with coronavirus
Dr. Voniatis said that the phenomenon of having a sudden increase in cases in two schools is important.
"Where we had three to eight cases a day in all schools, we had this outbreak of over 40 cases in a day. This worries us, but it is a matter of seeing how the situation develops. Only time will tell. That's why the only way to contain it is for both teachers and parents to get everyone vaccinated. It is the only safety net they can offer to children," he added.
