"If Croatia does not prepare for the fifth wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the infectious disease is likely to claim several thousand more lives," scientist Ivan Djikic, who works in Germany, said in an open letter sent on Thursday to PM Andrej Plenkovic and Health Minister Vili Beros.

Calling on the government to make public its future strategy, Djikic said he is concerned about the gravity of the situation, and the threat of a new, fifth, wave of the pandemic that he said could claim a large number of lives in Croatia.

Djikic said that on a daily basis he gets questions from concerned citizens “who wonder how they should behave in the current situation, who should get a booster dose, if the booster dose protects against the Omicron variant, which tests are safe, etc.”

50 Covid-related deaths per day is a ‘very high figure’

“It is a fact that Croatia is close to the top of the EU ranking in terms of the number of coronavirus deaths per million people during the fourth wave, which is alarming, and which calls for urgent preventive action,” he said.

“Around 50 people die of Covid-19 in Croatia every day, which is a very high figure. If we do not prepare early for the fifth wave, we are set to lose several thousand more people during the fifth wave,” he said, calling on the prime minister and health minister to “present accurate data and risks” related to the Omicron variant and “inform citizens about the government’s future strategy.”

‘Booster shots help in protecting against the Omicron strain’

Noting that the Omicron variant is dangerous as it seems to be two to three times more contagious than the Delta variant, Djikic called on Plenkovic and Beros to ensure fast detection and monitoring of the Omicron variant, present a strategy to prevent the fifth wave of the pandemic and encourage all citizens above 18 to get a booster dose.

Currently available data shows that additional vaccination has a significant positive effect and contributes to protection also against the Omicron variant, Djikic said, calling for launching a more serious vaccination campaign so as to achieve a significant level of collective protection and prevent excessive pressure on hospitals and fatalities.

He also said the Health Ministry should provide accurate and clear information on testing for coronavirus, describing as wrong messages that suggest citizens should get tested for cellular immunity as the best indicator of whether one should get a booster dose.

According to available data, a cellular immunity test based on which an official decision would be made on additional vaccination has not been approved anywhere in the world, he said, but added that there have been cases of citizens testing positive for cellular immunity and being advised not to get a booster dose after which they contracted the disease.

Djikic also called on the government not to allow profiteering related to coronavirus tests, warning that wrongly interpreted Covid tests can lead citizens to believe that they are protected even though they are not, thus causing the already complex epidemiological situation to worsen.

Warning of numerous cases of scientifically unfounded statements in the media, made by individual scientists, including members of the government’s scientific council, “to which neither the Health Ministry nor the government had reacted timely”, Đikić said that this caused unnecessary damage and undermined citizens’ trust in state institutions.

“Respond competently, clearly and timely to scientifically unfounded statements in the media,” he said.