Kon: I pleaded to be recalled if I bother them, I did everything. We asked for mandatory vaccination

Photo: Tanjug/Sava Radovanovic

Epidemiologist Predrag Kon, a member of the Crisis HQ for the fight against coronavirus, said this morning on the K1 TV Uranak show that the medical part of this body insisted during yesterday's meeting that it be made public that they were in favor of introducing more restrictive measures. He said that he does not know why Covid passes were not introduced yesterday.

Recommended

He also stressed that he personally did everything he could and pleaded to be recalled if he bothered them.

Asked by host Jovana Joksimovic why Prime Minister Ana Brnabic addressed the public yesterday rather than him, Kon replied:

"The fact that the prime minister made the address after the session of the Crisis HQ, and not me, is completely logical, because I could not say the opposite of what my position and the position of the medical part of the Crisis HQ is. We therefore insisted that it be made public that we were in favor of introducing more restrictive measures. The only thing we agreed on was the necessity of vaccination," said Kon.

According to him, Covid passes are a good thing, but at the moment they are not enough.

"I don't know at all what the explanation is for why we didn't introduce them yesterday. I didn't understand that, truly. Our proposal was to shorten opening hours to 5 pm for all non-essential business. This would give us a respite, the number of new cases would be reduced, and along the Covid passes, that time would have been used for vaccination."

"We asked for mandatory vaccination for health workers and employees in public services. I personally did everything, I pleaded to be recalled if I bothered them. We lose energy on debates. Postponing the measures is, in my opinion, the wrong way of thinking."

He also said that the percentage of vaccinated young people aged 18 to 30 is only 22 percent.

"I can't think about beliefs and convictions, I am an epidemiologist. Immunization is the only measure that allows us to get out of this situation, which is extraordinary, and often catastrophic. The epidemiological situation is politicized to the maximum, and obstructions are numerous at all levels. We now have the natural course of infection. Infection is faster than vaccination. It is catastrophic that out of those 7,000 new cases, about 1% die every day," said Dr. Kon.

Dr. Predrag Kon added that among the new cases, one in three has been vaccinated and that they are mostly elderly people:

"Two doses are enough for younger people to protect themselves. Elderly and chronic patients are less responsive to the vaccine and a third, booster dose is recommended. After the booster dose, only those who have been in contact with the virus that day or the previous day become ill. We will come to a point where either everyone has been infected, or vaccinated. Young people obviously expect us to take them by the hand and take them to get vaccinated. The one who does not choose the vaccine - has chosen the virus."

Kon stressed that he and his colleagues from the medical part of the Crisis HQ will be defenders of public health until the end.

"We will propose measures that we consider the most productive and best and we will ask for that to be publicly announced. This is not the time for mass celebrations and mass gatherings of people who have not been vaccinated. When it comes to seasonal flu vaccination, the current recommendation is to let 14 days pass from the booster dose to the flu vaccine, although now that stance has changed and it is safe to receive both vaccines at the same time. Certainly, it is necessary for that to be officially adopted and to start applying such a model, and that will be soon," Dr. Kon said on Uranak.

(Telegraf.rs)