Ministry of Health, Istituto Superiore della Sanità, Aifa and Inail have disseminated a document containing the new anti-contagion indications, useful for protecting yourself from the variants of Covid-19 that are spreading in the country.
When eating or drinking, you must keep a distance of two meters from others, those who have received the anti Covid-19 vaccine must still respect the quarantine after having had direct contact with a positive, those who have already contracted Covid can only receive one vaccine dose. These are some of the recommendations contained in the report entitled "Interim indications on the prevention and control measures of SARS-CoV-2 infections in terms of variants and vaccination".
DISTANCE OF 2 METERS
In Italy, the English variant is responsible for about 50% of new infections, while the Brazilian and South African variants continue to spread. To respond to their circulation, the document recommends increasing physical distancing. One meter remains the minimum distance to maintain, but when possible it is good to increase the distance from other people "up to two metres", above all "in all situations in which respiratory protection is removed such as, for example, when consuming drink and food". In bars and restaurants, therefore, the distance between the tables should be increased.
DISTANCES AND MASKS AT WORK
All workers, including those who have already received the anti Covid-19 vaccine, must continue to respect the rules: wearing the mask, sanitizing their hands, respecting the distance and taking all the necessary precautions to avoid contagion.
ONLY ONE DOSE FOR THOSE WHO ALREADY CONTRACT COVID
For people who have already contracted Covid "it is possible to consider the administration of a single dose as long as the vaccination is performed at least 3 months after the infection and within 6 months of it". A single dose therefore, even for vaccines that provide for two such as Pfizer, Moderna and Astrazeneca. However, this rule does not apply to subjects in conditions of immunodeficiency, primary or secondary to pharmacological treatments, who, even if they have had Covid, "must be vaccinated as soon as possible and with a two-dose vaccination cycle".
VACCINES AND QUARANTINE
Even those who have already been vaccinated, in the event of direct contact with a person who tested positive for Covid-19, must respect the 10-14 day quarantine period. Therefore, the same indications provided for a person who has not received the vaccine are valid.
Those who have not yet been vaccinated and are in close contact with a positive must "end the 10-14 day quarantine before being vaccinated". The document recalls that close contact means “high-risk exposure to a probable or confirmed case; this condition is generally defined by the following situations: a person who lives in the same house as a Covid-19 case, a person who has had direct physical contact with a Covid-19 case (e.g. handshake) , a person who has had direct contact (face to face) with a Covid-19 case, at a distance of less than 2 meters and for at least 15 minutes, a person who has been in a closed environment (for example a classroom, a meeting room, the hospital waiting room) with a Covid-19 case in the absence of protective devices such as Ffp2 and Ffp3 masks and gloves or appropriate medical devices such as surgical masks".
COVID-19 AFTER THE VACCINE
Can the vaccinated get reinfected? According to the document, subjects who have already received the vaccine "may be infected with SARS-CoV-2, albeit with reduced risk, since no vaccine is 100% effective and the immune response to vaccination can vary from subject to subject .
HOW LONG THE PROTECTION LASTS AFTER THE ILLNESS
The report cites a UK study of 6.600 healthcare workers that found "the duration of the protective effect of previous infection has a median of 5 months".
VACCINES EFFECTIVENESS
All three vaccines currently in circulation are effective against Covid-19, the document reiterates. In detail, Pfizer-BionTech protects starting from the week following the second dose, even if minimal protection already arrives 10 days after receiving the first dose. Moderna, on the other hand, has “optimal protection starting 2 weeks after the recall”. AstraZeneca, on which the EMA will comment on Thursday, begins to work 3 weeks after the first dose and the protection persists until the twelfth week, when the second dose is administered. In all three vaccines, protection is not 100% and it is not known how long immunity lasts.
