Students had the opportunity to ask their questions to Dr. Stefan Kasabov<\/strong>, surgeon and Deputy Manager of the UMHAT “Virgin Mary” Hospital in Burgas. Of particular interest were issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the vaccines against the disease and the mandatory wearing of masks at school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Kasabov called on young people to strictly comply with all sanitary and hygienic requirements and restrictive measures in order to limit the infection and protect both their own lives and health and those of their loved ones. Here is the interview, conducted by two of the junior ambassadors, Simeon Minkov and Viktor Stefanov of Geo Milev School, Burgas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. When will the pandemic come to an end?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kasabov<\/strong>: Probably when a sufficient collective immunity (wrongly referred to as \u201cherd immunity\u201d) is reached. It depends on the number of the infected, as a percentage, plus the vaccinated. Thus, the chance that the virus will encounter a strong enough immune response is much greater and that will help to stop its replication. The claim that vaccinated or asymptomatic infected people can transmit the virus is true, yet only passively! Of course, whether the collective immunity will be effective enough depends also on the virus mutations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Is the violent immune response useful for the body?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kasabov:<\/strong> The normal immune response is useful. The violent immune response leads to the so-called cytokine storm, which in most cases worsens the patient’s condition or leads to a poor outcome. Therefore, immunosuppression is used as part of the treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Why <\/strong>should we wear masks, if they don’t protect <\/strong>us 100%?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kasabov:<\/strong> Wearing a mask, especially if properly placed on your face, reduces the penetration of the virus into the upper respiratory tract. It is not without importance how great the viral load is at the start of the infection. There is the concept of “an infectious dose,” which is basically the number of microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, etc., that need to be introduced into the body to develop the disease. The multiplication of microorganisms is in geometric progression and the initial number is not insignificant!<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Are you personally, as a medical expert, “FOR” or “AGAINST” the wearing of masks in class?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kasabov: <\/strong>The answer to the previous question is clear: “FOR”!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Will the virus disappear in the <\/strong>summer?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kasabov:<\/strong> Hah, did it disappear last summer? There are several factors that considerably improve the situation when there is hot weather: open rooms with constant ventilation, which automatically decreases the number of aerosols containing microorganisms; and ultraviolet light from the sun also kills the microorganisms trapped on various surfaces. Let me remind you that ordinary glass actually blocks ultraviolet rays, so open windows are of huge importance!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Simeon Minkov and Viktor Stefanov (8A) “COVID-19 \u2013 restrictive measures, vaccines and immunity” was the topic of the meeting attended by junior ambassadors of the European Parliament from AEG “Geo Milev,” Burgas. Students had the opportunity to ask their questions to Dr. Stefan Kasabov, surgeon and Deputy Manager of the UMHAT “Virgin Mary” Hospital in Burgas. Of particular…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[86,1],"tags":[46,55,56,57,58],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gpaeburgas.org\/Fullbright\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/149929921_742294183157846_4979007708629290408_n.jpg\")