#iomivaccino, the Vanity Fair Italy campaign for anti-Covid vaccination. There is also the mayor of Milan Beppe Sala

Get out of the pandemic tunnel. That is: return to hug freely, meet without limitations, go to concerts and shows. And again: to start traveling again with ease, to resume making plans for the present, to dream again of the future that we would like to implement. The winning weapon, the one that can really allow us to hope for all this is called the “vaccine” and has finally arrived. December 27 marks for the European Union, and in the specific case for Italy, the day on which the first 9750 doses of the anti-Covid vaccine developed by Pfizer / BioNTech will be administered.

A symbolic vaccination that wants to mark the restart that everyone has been waiting for for some time. A turning point, in which even Vanity Fair Italia chooses to be present through a social awareness campaign on the importance of vaccinating against the Coronavirus, for one’s own good and that of others.

“At Vanity Fair we firmly believe in the need and above all in the opportunity to get vaccinated against Covid-19”, underlined the director Simone Marchetti, commenting on the initiative that will start today on the magazine’s Instagram page, calling into question friends of the newspaper, celebrities and show business personalities, intending to get vaccinated. Anyone can then join via social media, posting their own photo with the sticker for the IG stories #iomivaccino that they will find by searching for “vanityfairitalia”. “Throughout this year, we have learned to replace fear with hope, anger with commitment and fears with dreams”, continued Marchetti. «The opportunity to get vaccinated is the key to getting out of the shadow of the pandemic and finally returning to dreaming and living a better tomorrow for everyone. Without doubts and without fake news we say: I put my face on it. I VACCINO #iomivaccino ».

The first known face in support of the anti-Covid pro-vaccination campaign launched by Vanity Fair Italia will be that of the mayor of Milan, Beppe Sala. “I’ll get vaccinated, I’ll do it with pleasure, as soon as possible, being an over 60”, said the mayor, interviewed by the television press on the morning of December 25, while in Milan he was helping the Pane Quotidiano volunteers in delivering food aid to who needs. “I believe that those who have political responsibility today must feel the responsibility to say, without ifs and buts, that they will get vaccinated. It really seems to me the least, I do it with conviction ».

But the mayor of Milan is not the only one. To have joined the social campaign #iomivaccino of Vanity Fair are already very many: from the senator for life Liliana Segre to the science communicator Piero Angela, to the virologist Fabrizio Pregliasco.

The virologist Pregliasco, interviewed in recent days live by the journalist Veronica Bianchini, dispelled all the main doubts relating to the vaccine developed by Pfizer / BioNTech for Vanity Fair.

We report them here:
It is the first ever RNA-based vaccine and there are those who believe that injecting it could also involve changes at the DNA level. It’s true?
“Absolutely not. It is true that – as well as the one produced by Moderna – this is the first vaccine that uses a new methodology, but this technique is already in advanced experimentation in other fields, for example in the field of oncology and muscle problems. However, it is the first time that an RNA-based vaccine has been registered, thanks to a great effort, yes at the level of organization, funds and volunteers who have made themselves available to allow us to arrive at registration quickly, shortening the times but maintaining the same experimental dimensions of the other vaccinations created in the past ».

Who thinks that the too fast time with which this vaccine was developed makes it less safe and reliable is wrong?
«It is wrong because over 50-60 thousand people were recruited, which represents, in terms of the number of subjects studied after vaccination, the size comparable to that used for other vaccinations. It is clear that after phase 3, which has now ended, phase 4 is starting, that of pharmacovigilance, of real-life evaluation of any possible side effects that may exist and that will serve to better refine these collected elements. Not for nothing, there have been two reports of allergic forms that have generated an alert regarding the fact of postponing the vaccination in subjects with important allergies ».

Therefore, is it better for people with severe allergies not to get vaccinated at this time?
«Yes, because as always, for each drug, there is this phase 4 of systematic reporting of possible side effects which are then evaluated to verify their effective correlation. Today the alter is this ».

Is it true that the reactions found to the vaccine, the most common side effects are fever, headache, joint pain?
“It is true, but in a not very high percentage and with values ​​of 6, 7, 8%, typical percentages that anyone can report for vaccinations against the flu or for vaccines trickling into children or adults. Little things that limit themselves and do not cause concern ».

Does the vaccine protect against aggravation, i.e. can you catch Covid and remain asymptomatic without developing the disease, or does it prevent you from being completely attacked by the virus?
“On this we should see the studies that at the moment have not yet been made public. This doubt emerged from the fact that the reading of some studies of this vaccination reported the avoidance of the disease as the primary objective, so we wondered if it defends against the disease or even against infection ».

Will we still have to keep a mask and spacing when vaccinated?
«Mask and distancing will still be there and they will certainly have to be there until we arrive at a herd immunity or an important dimension of vaccination on the whole population. In practice, for the whole of 2021, vaccinated or not, they will have to be maintained. Also because, despite the high percentage of effectiveness found in these vaccines, of 90-95%, it means that a minimum percentage of people who get vaccinated may still not have coverage. At this stage in which the virus is spreading too much, protection should still be maintained ».

To achieve herd immunity in Italy, 42 million would have to be vaccinated. It’s really like this?
“Yes, it’s true. The herd immunity figure is different as a percentage of vaccinated according to the level of contagiousness of the disease, the famous R0 index. In the case of Covid-19, the mathematical calculation tells us that the percentage is between 60-70% of vaccinated. To give an idea, in the case of measles vaccination, the virus being more contagious, up to 95% of vaccinations are needed. Considering that the virus of this pandemic has a lower percentage of contagiousness, it will be enough for us to reach 60-70% of the population. It will be the bet of this vaccination ».

Do those who have already had Covid have to get vaccinated too?
«Those who have already suffered the disease do not necessarily have to get sick again. Getting the vaccine will help prevent a new infection and also strengthen the immune system ».

How long will the vaccine protect us?
“We still don’t have an idea because we don’t know exactly how long we stay protected. It is speculated that immunity can last about 6 months. There is still some uncertainty about the need to perform the recall after one year, we will find out in the future. What is certain is that with herd immunity we will reach the extinction of the disease ».

So will immunity stop circulating the virus, extinguish it?
“People who get vaccinated also shield the unvaccinated, because the virus can’t find anyone to infect. To really achieve immunity it will be necessary to continue with vaccination, to make boosters, to vaccinate the new born and so on ».

What can we say to undecided people and those who are afraid to convince them of the importance of the vaccine?
«We can say that vaccination in this case represents an act of solidarity for the community and for the closest people around us. This is an important element in our somewhat individualistic society. Vaccine safety data are the same size and capacity as other vaccines; in any case, the risk-benefit ratio is absolutely in favor of vaccination. Even in the case of young people, because it is true that they are less at risk, however there have also been young people in intensive care, others who have not made it through the virus, and in any case have a family context where they could run of the risks and they represent the cause of an asymptomatic infection “.

Is it also true who in mild cases of Covid-19 there may be long-term problems?
“That’s true and that’s why it’s best to avoid it anyway. We don’t have a long history of the disease, we have only known it for 8 months and we see neurological problems, heart and lung damage. We still have to assess whether this can have an impotent aftermath even in those who have suffered it in a mild manner ».

Will the anti-Covid vaccine developed by Pfizer / BioNTech also be effective against the Covid variant identified in the UK?
«To date, we believe that the vaccine also works as an immune cover on the English variant. In 15 days the results of the laboratory tests currently in progress will be announced, which will give a complete and official response ».

Who cannot be vaccinated?
“The vaccine cannot be administered to allergy sufferers, to subjects under the age of 16 and in all those cases reported in the technical data sheet”.