The fact is that the covid-19 pandemic is still developing in the world and it is certain that the next, sixth wave will also be active in our country, said the director of the Public Health Institute of the Federation of BiH Sinisa Skocibusic, emphasizing that measures have been significantly reduced and modified depending on the epidemiological situation.
“Currently in the world we see an outbreak of coronavirus in some parts of the globe, currently 15 million people are isolated in Shanghai due to the reappearance of covid, which means that it is very expected that a new wave will come again in BiH. We know that this disease more or less takes place in waves, and we also know that the so-called seasonality is developing and that this season will most likely be after the holidays, so in the autumn-winter period,” said Skocibusic.
He said that for two years we had a pandemic that was the focus of both the media and the health system, and that today it has remained exclusively in the focus of the health system.
“Although it now seems that a relatively small number of people are currently hospitalized and that the clinical picture is somewhat easier so people manage to take it out at home and recover, still the number of people in hospitals is not negligible and most importantly we must continue to adhere to the usual epidemiological measures, and that is to try to keep a distance as much as possible, be sure to get vaccinated and of course wash your hands and ventilate the area,” said Skocibusic.
Speaking about epidemiological measures, he said that the very fact that such a small number of people are currently infected speaks in favor of the fact that there is no need to ban large gatherings and for such restrictive measures.
“Now there is a low level of transmission in our community, epidemiological measures have been adjusted, significantly reduced, but they will certainly be either returned or modified depending on the epidemiological situation,” he said.
As for vaccination, it is ongoing all the time and is carried out by all health institutions.
“It is no longer in the same interest as before, and we currently have enough Pfizer, Moderna and Sinopharm vaccines, people are being vaccinated, and we especially call on the elderly and compromised population to be vaccinated with booster or third dose, because only revaccination with three doses provide protection for newer genetic variants from the virus itself. We plan to purchase new vaccines for the fall, when we expect the pandemic to progress again,” he said.
He emphasized that the fourth dose is also being considered, noting that overcoming one genetic variant does not provide protection for all genetic variants of the virus.
“It is true that we are currently considering the fourth dose, given that we know that protection has its limited duration, so it will be necessary, but when we make a final decision in accordance with international recommendations of the World Health Organization and relevant experts, we will inform the public and that activity,” he concluded.
