It is not enough to close the borders and ban flights from a handful of African countries: in the long run it does not solve the problem. This is how immunologist Alberto Mantovani, Scientific Director of Humanitas, intervenes in the news of the first cases in Europe of the Omicron variant, the new mutation of the virus that worries about the possibility of greater infection and fears a breakthrough in a Covid vaccine.
An immunologist told Rai Radio1 on Saturday, November 27, in Sabato Inchio. For Mantovani, closing flights against the new alternative is “a temporary measure that allows us to understand the situation. In the long run, we will not solve the situation by closing ourselves.”
In the fight against Covid, international cooperation is key: “Patent liberalization is an issue where opinions differ. It is important at this time to share production capacity. Also thanks to our Prime Minister, the European Union has begun to support the construction of factories in African countries.”
Meanwhile, the first suspected cases of the South African type appear in different parts of Europe. The latest case has been identified in the Czech Republic, a spokesperson for the National Institute of Public Health in Prague, Stepanka Sychova, announced that a person from Namibia has tested positive for the virus. Analyzes are underway to confirm whether this is an omicron variant, which was discovered yesterday in a woman in Belgium who has a suspected case in Germany. In the Netherlands, the situation is even more alarming numerically, as 61 suspected cases of Omicron have been discovered among the passengers of two KLM planes that landed in Amsterdam in the past few hours. Also in this case, analyzes are underway to understand the exact strain of the virus present in infected travelers.
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