“I’m not at all sure that the Centaur will win,” said Theodoros Vassilakopoulos, professor of pulmonology, noting variation although it appeared in many countries, it dominated only in India.

In particular, in an interview with SKAI, the professor of pulmonology explained that “the Centaur variant is an evolution of the Omicron 2. It prevailed mainly in India. In the rest of the countries where it has appeared, it does not seem to predominate, that is, where Omicron 4-5 dominates. In contrast, there was some Omicron 4-5 in India. There is no need to panic, we are watching her. It probably won’t prevail in any of the countries where Omicron 4-5 dominates.”

Regarding the picture of de-escalation presented by the pandemic, the professor emphasized that “the number of cases is declining, as are imports. Three weeks ago we had about 400 hospitalizations and now we have 270. The transfer coefficient is 0.91. We are entering the downward phase of this wave.”

However, Mr Vasilakopoulos highlighted the “high number of deaths,” adding that the fourth dose is the main line of defense, especially for the elderly.

For the reopening of schools, he emphasized that the pandemic situation at that time should be taken into account: “In the US, the CDC opens schools without any measures, except in areas where there is a high load. This could be done here as well. If an area shows too many cases, it would be useful to return a mask. On the other hand, the widespread use of a mask, if epidemiological measures allow, I do not consider it necessary.”