“Mexican authorities are minimizing the arrival of Omicron.”

“2022 will be a complicated year if adjustments are not made in the face of the arrival of the new variant.” – Top Mexican scientist explains.

(CDMX – El País) In its Mexican version, the renowned Spanish newspaper El País interviewed Jaime Sepúlveda Amor, one of Mexico’s most renowned epidemiologists. Sepúlveda Amor is a pioneer in the fight against HIV in the country and has the experience of five prior epidemics. Also, several decades as a public servant. 

Sepúlveda Amor shells out in the interview several criticisms on the management of the coronavirus in the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador and what he expects from the pandemic in the coming months. “Mexican authorities are minimizing the arrival of Omicron. 2022 will be a complicated year if adjustments are not made in the face of the arrival of the new variant.”

Sepúlveda Amor launches several warnings about the arrival of Omicron to Mexican territory and calls for important adjustments in the governmental strategy to mitigate the impact of the new virus. “Omicron has brought us back to a point where we will have to take very serious precautions. I am referring not only to being well vaccinated, ideally with a third dose but with messenger RNA vaccines [such as Pfizer or Moderna], which are the ones that best protect against Omicron. In addition to the vaccines, we have to continue using face masks. This is such a contagious variant that we will likely end up infected, even with three doses, even in well-vaccinated people. That is how contagious the omicron variant is. The good news is that with three doses of vaccine, especially messenger RNA, protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death is very high. 

Similarly, Sepúlveda Amor mentions that the authorities’ complacency in Mexico is very dangerous. The president himself has downplayed the severity of the pandemic in any of its earlier phases. “Again, the authorities are minimizing the arrival of Omicron. It is a matter of time before it becomes the predominant variant in Mexico. It is going to be a difficult winter, as the transmission of the delta variant coexists with Omicron and also the influenza virus.”

“Neither the president’s amulets nor the optimistic and complacent statements in the morning conferences are going to prevent the omicron variant from reaching Mexico, and it is going to arrive with great force. So we are going to have a new wave starting next month, and the necessary precautions are not being taken, including vaccination as a booster with high-quality vaccines.” Mentions Sepúlveda Amor.

Read the complete interview here. 

The Yucatan Times
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