In a study titled “Multinational Delphi Consensus to End the Public Health Threat of Covid 19” (SS “Multinational Consensus to Eliminate the Threat to Public Health from COVID-19) that was just published in Nature – and you can read it in full here – trying to answer the most “hot” question around him coronavirus this is dot: How to get out of the pandemic faster and safer?

As noted at the beginning of the study, over 620 million cases by September 2022 coronavirus worldwide and more than 6.5 million deaths.

At the same time, health care for millions of people continues to be delayed by overburdened national health systems. Extremely contagious varieties coronavirus continue to spread, and the dangers from reinfection not fully understood.

And what should governments do to help the global community deal with all of the above? 386 scientists from 112 countries presented their proposals, the Greek group was represented by professors of epidemiology. Sotiri Ciodrageek MajorcaValve ThirstDimitris Paraskevi, George Papatheodoridis.

Scientists involved in the study continue to consider it COVID-19 a constant and dangerous threat to public health. His professor of epidemiology EKPAGikas Majorcatold “K” about the essence of this report at the moment and deciphered its main conclusions.

As he explains: “With 57 suggestions/recommendations, we are trying to answer what we should do at this stage to get out of the tunnel. coronavirus more safely. Participants come from the field of healthcare, universities, NGOs but also government organizations from all over the world people- Europe, Africa, America, India, Australia etc. The process called Delphi with scientists answering a series of questions over a period of 3 months until there is general consensus on the proposals we have submitted. This is the first mass study of its kind.“.

As explained TO. Majorca, recommendations of scientists relate to the six basic principles of its management coronavirus – communications, national health systems, vaccination, prevention, treatment and support, and inequalities in the fight against the pandemic.

Mistakes in the fight against the pandemic

mr. Mallorca Highlights in “K” the main conclusion of the study is that the radical struggle against COVID-19 were hampered by interrelated factors, including: misinformation, vaccination hesitancy, inconsistent global coordination with overall pandemic policy, and unequal distribution of vaccines and treatments.

As for the critical part of his communications management coronavirusdue to the sheer volume and speed with which information is circulated among citizens, it is very difficult for the latter to determine how true and accurate the information they are being bombarded with is.

As noted in the study, despite the increased level of trust in science, during the pandemic there is a serious fatigue from the consumption of information.

Compliance with public health measures that remain in place in high-risk environments has also now been reduced. with some governments oblivious to this general weakening. In fact, in some countries, the lifting of measures for citizens was identified with the end of the pandemic, and some states did not prevent this misconception.

In the same time, there are economic barriers to access to vaccines, a fact that does not help economically weaker countries to protect their citizens and “equal” with the advanced ones in terms of creating mass immunity. At the same time, the error is without content”targetingunvaccinated in some societies, ultimately did not contribute to increasing confidence in science and vaccines, and also caused upheaval in society as a whole.

Another of the many observations made by scientists is how doctors and nurses are now in a difficult spiritual, physical and psychological situation after 3 years of continuous struggle with coronavirus.

Also interesting is the mention of children, the great “losers” of the pandemic, a social group that was treated only in medical terms and thereby undermined the educational, intellectual and psychosocial their evolution.

What needs to change to get out of the pandemic faster

First, according to scientists, as we approach the end of the pandemic, it is necessary to change the very way of counting deaths from COVID-19, that is, how deaths from coronavirus but also morbidity.

As noted TO. Majorca:”All countries must agree on a common definition and a common method of counting.so that we can draw more confident conclusions about policies that make sense and can be implemented in general.”

Proposals also mention: development of treatments for all stages of COVID-19, including underestimated -per her time- prolonged covid syndrome but also the elimination of financial barriers that many citizens face in their daily lives. It means: free test for coronavirus for everyone, free service, access to masks and antiseptics.

And also: essential moral support for health workers, strengthening primary health care to reduce the burden on hospitals, as well as citizens’ anticipation of other health problems they face. OUR prioritization fighting infections from coronavirus, instead of stepping up precautions against multiple infections, which are still the main threat of a pandemicshould stop.

With regard to communication, it is suggested that scientists and competent authorities work closely together to develop new public health messages that will increase public confidence in both vaccines and prevention efforts. The scientists’ proposals also include systematic and very careful monitoring of the spread of fake news around the pandemic by agencies and groups that will only deal with this record and fight the problem at its root.

And as Mr. Majorkinis points out: “And there may be a sense that the extreme polarization in society that we saw last year, and also during the outbreak of the pandemic, has stopped, but the image is not true. It’s just that the pandemic is no longer such a hot topic as it was a few months ago.. Citizens’ trust in both authorities and scientists remains low.”

And so far, according to the study, vaccines are effective against it. COVID-19they cannot end the pandemic on their own. Even in the third year of the pandemic that we are in today, the application of social prevention measures – masks, distances, good ventilation and air filtration in high risk- must remain enabled.

Finally, with regard to our country, Mr. Majorkinis believes that we are on the right track. As the saying goes: “I find it positive that in Greece, to a greater extent than in other countries, we have already implemented several recommendations, such as protection measures in high-risk and high-risk areas. testing, and we are one of the countries consistently using normalized mortality rates in pandemic monitoring. I believe that we are already taking steps to safely and quickly exit the emergency phase of the pandemic.”