Infectious disease specialist Dr Hugo Pizzi, a member of the committee advising the government on the coronavirus pandemic, has expressed his "great concern" about a recent increase in the number of Covid-19 infections in Argentina.
While the virus has mostly dropped off the news agency, Pizzi warned in a new interview that cases were rising along with the arrival of colder temperatures and called for a renewed focus on Covid-19 vaccination.
Regarding the rise in infections, the expert said that "it is a great concern because when the temperatures start to drop, windows are closed and people are closed off in rooms,” thereby increasing the chances of contagion.
"There is an under-recording [of ] cases] that nobody talks about,” Pizzi said in an interview with Radio La990.
"The ideal would be [for everyone] to be vaccinated with three doses against Covid and also the flu," he insisted.
“There are batches [of vaccines] that are expiring and there are many people who have not had a second or third dose," he added.
"Many places that had been converted into vaccination centres had to close because people were not going," said the specialist, who is a member of the government's special advisory committee on the Covid-19 pandemic.
Increase in infections
In the last week of April, Argentina’s Health Ministry reported 11,443 new cases of coronavirus in the country and 111 deaths, according to official data.
The number of new cases is similar to that reported on Sunday 24 April, when 11,307 positive cases were reported over the previous seven days.
The government has recently stepped up its rhetoric regarding vaccination, calling for citizens to ensure they receive a third ‘booster’ dose if they have already received two jabs.
Officials in Buenos Aires City, however, have said that they see no need to modify existing measures and policies that are in place.
"It is not a worrying panorama considering that hospitalisations have not increased and 70 percent of those who live in the city have already had their third dose of vaccine applied," the City Health Ministry told Perfil on Monday.
– TIMES/PERFIL
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