The need for action during pandemics is determined by the characteristics and vulnerability of the population associated with the socio-economic profile, as well as the level of spread of the disease in the community.

Therefore, in the question of whether measures are needed for schools, one must determine the population, which, of course, consists not only of students, but also of working adults. The level of vaccination of students and workers is of key importance. Based on the data that can be obtained for our country to date, the percentage of children and adolescents who received at least one dose of vaccine is extremely low, 26%, while the percentage of children and adolescents who complete the second dose of vaccination is 0.2% (At the European level, Greece ranks 15th and penultimate, respectively). Often the measures taken by countries with high vaccination rates are an indicator of the measures taken in Greece. However, the level of dispersion in Greece, based on the indicators proposed by the US organization CDC, is high. It is significant that the variance is considered high when the number of hospitalizations per single bed exceeds 10 per week and 100,000 inhabitants. In Greece, this figure exceeds 20.

The main socio-economic and environmental factors affecting the infectivity are the possibility of crowding and the possibility of natural ventilation of the premises. In most schools, overcrowding is impossible to avoid due to the number of students in the sections and the small size of the classrooms. Natural ventilation is very often not possible and will probably not be possible due to the impending energy crisis. Based on the foregoing, I believe that the use of a mask when trying to apply self-testing during periods of high variance is absolutely necessary.

* Ms. Athena Linou is Emeritus Professor of Epidemiology at EKPA.