"Most infected people returning from Greece and Croatia, we can't press for vaccination of children"

Photo: Tanjug/Serbian government/Slobodan Miljevic, Pixabay

There is no dilemma, health workers must be all vaccinated, all those who come in contact with patients, epidemiologist Branislav Tiodorovic told RTS.

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Vaccination is not a matter of democracy but of civilization, the epidemiologist pointed out.

The increase in the number of new cases that we currently have is not surprising, bearing in mind the return of a large number of Serbian tourists from countries where the epidemic situation is much worse. This growth that we have now will continue, experts agree, reports rts.rs.

However, the fact that people are returning from vacation, and work and school collectives are formed is worrying. The question is what awaits us in the coming few days, how to behave.

The basic epidemiological measures in Serbia have never been lifted, asis the case elsewhere in the world, and the only thing the Crisis HQ can do is call for control of those measures.

Epidemiologist Branislav Tiodorovic says that the summer period showed that we have all relaxed, that citizens respect some measures, but not all.

"You can see that in shopping malls, at sporting events and in hospitality establishments, while in the open, in addition to distancing, other measures are not so important," said Tiodorovic.

Most infected people come from hotspots in Greece and Croatia

He added that although many do not agree, judging by everything, the largest number of patients come to Covid hospitals from hotspots in Greece and Croatia because of non-compliance with the measures, and that is why more rigorous control is needed.

He added that everyone wants the school year to start regularly.

"We cannot pressure 12-year-old children to get vaccinated without satisfactory results among adults," the epidemiologist stressed.

"Education workers must understand that they need to protect themselves and that they will protect children in that way. Let us encourage children to wear masks, and any insistence on mass testing is impossible, we cannot do that all the time," Tiodorovic stressed.

He said that we should have a calmer epidemiological situation in order for the children to return to schools, but that is hard to expect.

Vaccination of healthcare workers is necessary

Speaking about the Delta strain, he said that if the number of hospitalized people is taken into account, it can be concluded that there is no reason for panic, but that it should be paid attention to.

"This is the last moment for vaccination, for educators to provide conditions for normal work," Tiodorovic said.

He said that we must differentiate between local self-governments that have a high percentage of vaccinated people and those that do not, and thus determine who will go online and who will go to school regularly.

"There is no dilemma: all health workers must be vaccinated, all those who come in contact with patients," said Tiodorovic and pointed out that vaccination is not a matter of democracy but of civilization.

Speaking about festivals, he said that measures were respected during Exit and that this can be achieved at other festivals as well.

(Telegraf.rs)