By: Lucija Kavčič
Just before New Year’s, the first doses of coronavirus vaccine arrived in Slovenia, which were first received by Homes of Elderly; vaccination has started, and finally the end of epidemic, which has been shaping our lives for almost a year, has begun to show.
I hope, I really hope that as many people as possible will decide to get vaccinated, or at least 60 percent of the population of Slovenia, as is needed to be protected from the spread of this disease sometime around summer of this year, and the hottest New Year’s wishes will come true – to live again as usual and indulge in plenty of socialising. However, until I experience this, I would rather be careful – namely, if not enough people are vaccinated, the virus will still circulate, so there will be a greater chance of mutations in the virus, perhaps even such that could again endanger those already protected with the vaccine. And such a development is quite possible given that many doubts regarding the vaccine can be read on social networks. Most of these are unjustified and some even absurd. In addition to the joy that the vaccine is here, the pre-New Year’s atmosphere was also shaped by the announcements that children of the first triad will return to school immediately after the New Year, quickly followed by the rest. As expected, some began to loudly reject rapid coronavirus testing, which would be necessary before school starts and then performed regularly. I am also in doubt that testing alone will be enough to open schools safely – especially if many people vehemently reject it. I am more inclined to think that it would be safe to open schools only if at least everyone who want to has been vaccinated before: teachers, parents, and perhaps even students, although for now only people older than 16 years can be vaccinated. In fact, I was relieved when Minister Simona Kustec announced that schools would remain closed for at least another week after the New Year, although I was convinced that decision-makers would not give in to pressures demanding a general school opening despite all arguments. This week will show how many infections we “produced” in Slovenia during the holidays, and in addition, the beginning of the third wave of Covid-19 has been announced several times. Not to mention the possibility of spreading a more dangerous, 75% more contagious strain from England, which fortunately has not yet been detected in our country.
In the coming weeks, we must not slacken in following protective measures and vaccinate as many people as possible.