“Now is not the time to facilitate mask recommendation”
EEVA SWEDISHThe Deputy Chief Medical Officer of the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS) has expressed a reserved plan to facilitate the mask recommendation in Finland.
“Now is not the time to ease the mask recommendation. There is a big contradiction here, as the coronavirus continues to spread widely, the burden on hospital care remains high and restrictions have been largely lifted, he said. stated To YLE on Monday.
The Department of Health and Welfare (THL) announced on Tuesday that it will review its plan to mitigate the recommendation as there has been no improvement in coronavirus-related infections, hospitalizations and mortality. According to Helsingin Sanomat.
Mika SalminenTHL’s health security manager said last week that the national guidelines will be changed to recommend the use of a mask when, for example, public transport goes for coronavirus testing or goes to a pharmacy to buy essential medicines when symptoms occur. .
“Otherwise, it would be more up to people to decide if they want to wear the mask considering their loved ones and their own risks,” he told a news conference at THL and the Department of Social Affairs and Health. on Thursday.
The Swede said on Monday that the risks are increased by the fact that the third dose of the vaccine is lower in Finland than elsewhere in the Nordic countries. Third doses have been given to only 61 per cent of the Finnish adult population, compared with 68 per cent in Norway and 78 per cent in Denmark.
Another concern is indications that the natural immunity caused by omicron infection is weaker and shorter than that caused by the vaccine.
“We cannot trust that the disease will provide long-term protection,” the Swede summed up.
“It’s been almost five months since the third doses were given to the elderly and nursing home residents. Their vaccine protection is weaker than in healthy working-age people. This means that vaccine protection is reduced in the part of the population that would need a fourth dose to protect themselves against severe forms of the disease.
Almost 27,000 new coronavirus infections were diagnosed in Finland last weekend. Fragments of the virus are also widely detected in wastewater analyzes.
“There are no signs yet of a nationwide decline in the epidemic,” the Swede said.
It is also not known how the workplaces would respond to the new guidelines. The Swede said that in the current epidemiological situation, it would send the wrong message if store and public transport staff no longer had masks. He added that the recommendation will be valid in the near future in the social and health sector.
“In hospitals, every unexpected coronavirus-positive patient or worker causes an exposure situation in the ward. The masks provide additional protection and reduce exposure, “he said.
“I think it would make sense to stick to the mask recommendation until the end of April. In this way, we would see what happens at the turn of March-April, when the effects of easing restrictions are visible and the BA.2 sub-variant of omicron has become the predominant variant.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT