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Decision to cancel holidays at the end of the year is correct, says researcher at Fiocruz

Faced with the threat of the Ômicron variant of the new coronavirus, some Brazilian cities decided to cancel the New Year’s Eve parties in 2021 in advance. In an interview with CNN this Monday (29), the pulmonologist and researcher at Fiocruz Margareth Dalcolmo said that the cancellation decisions are correct.

“This decision taken administratively by the city of Salvador and other city halls, already a few dozen that we are becoming aware of, in my opinion are very correct. I think that this should be a general measure adopted by everyone to avoid crowding at parties, whether on New Year’s Eve or Carnival”, said the doctor.

TO CNN, the researcher also said that three factors would be ideal for holding parties without greater risks: an immunization rate of at least 80%, low number of hospitalizations for Covid-19 and a low number of deaths from the disease.

“Adding these three factors to the protocols, etc., we could say that we would be doing events of this size with some degree of security,” he said.

Ômicron variant

The red dots in the image above demonstrate the number of mutations comparing the Delta variant and the new Ômicron variant of the coronavirus. According to Dalcomo, mutations happened especially in the area of ​​the virus that interacts with human cells.

According to Dalcomo, even with the high number of mutations, it is not yet possible to know if the new variant is resistant to the vaccines that have been applied in the world.

“Nothing indicates, so far, that the vaccines we use and that are approved for use worldwide are not protective for the new variant strain”, said the researcher.

So far, there is no evidence that the Ômicron variant is more lethal than the earlier variants, although it is suspected that it is much more transmissible than predecessor strains.

“She is certainly more transferable. But, so far, it has not caused more serious cases than the previous situation”, said Dalcomo.

Regarding the restriction on the entry of foreigners from countries where the new strain was detected, Dalcomo said he did not see the measure as necessary.

“Closing flights, at this point, does not seem to be the right sanitary measure. In addition to being highly discriminatory, at the moment we know that the requirement for a vaccination passport and proof that the person is not sick would be the most correct, most opportune sanitary measures”, he concluded.

Reference: CNN Brasil

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