Galić: Properly immunized 34 percent of the population, one must not have false hope that people do not die from omicron strain

In Montenegro, 34 percent of the population, or 40 percent of adults, are currently properly vaccinated, said the director of the Institute for Public Health (IJZ), Igor Galić.

At the press conference of the Ministry of Health and the IJZ, Galić explained that this term refers to the number of people who received an adequate number of doses of vaccines in the previous six months.

"34 percent of the total population, or 40 percent of adults, are properly immunized," Galić said.

When asked when the measures can be expected to be lifted in line with more developed countries, he said that the number of newly infected people in Montenegro is lower compared to more developed countries in Europe.

As he said, indicators in the last five weeks indicate a decrease in morbidity, mortality and hospitalizations.

"However, unlike the countries of the European Union (EU), Montenegro has less vaccination coverage. It has been noticed that, in addition to the large number of infected, those countries do not have a lot of hospitalizations and deaths, which is the result of vaccination coverage," said Galić.

He pointed out that the course of the pandemic and the liberalization of measures directly depend on the scope of vaccination.

"We are certainly following the situation and strategies of different countries and at this moment we can say that, considering the number of vaccinated people, we will take measures to protect the transmission of the population for the time being," Galić said.

He pointed out that one should not have false hope that people do not die from omicron strain.

He said that the liberalization of border measures depends on the epidemiological situation.

"Currently, we cannot predict the situation until the summer, but the citizens will be informed in time," said Galić.

He appealed for unvaccinated citizens to be vaccinated, as well as for those who were revaccinated more than six months ago to receive a booster dose.

"Countries with a high incidence are relaxing the measures even at this moment, and this is only possible due to the large number of vaccinated people. We will end the pandemic and ease the measures sooner if we achieve adequate vaccination coverage," said Galić.

He pointed out that there is also a difference in terms of transmission between the vaccinated and non-vaccinated population, which was especially pronounced when the delta strain was dominant.

"A non-vaccinated person was infectious for nine days, and a vaccinated person for four. The infectious dose transmitted by a vaccinated infected person is far less compared to an unvaccinated person," said Galić.

Director of the Clinical Center of Montenegro (KCCG), Ljiljana Radulović, stated that they have opened all outpatient clinics in that institution and started calling patients.

"We managed to reach about 20 percent of patients because they don't answer or we have the wrong phone," said Radulović.

She stated that such a situation primarily affects emergency patients.

"I appeal to citizens to respond to calls or to check with their chosen doctor whether they have left the wrong number," said Radulović.