On the new Pandemic Plan 2024-2028, “I feel I must point out that to deal with an unknown pathogen with a very high mortality rate it may be necessary to adopt restrictive measures which, however, must be issued only if strictly indispensable, possibly remain in force for the time strictly necessary and be proportionate both to the probability and to the extent of the event”. As the Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci, responding to Question time in the Senate to a question on the revision of the guidelines in view of the adoption of the Pandemic Plan for the period 2024-2028, and whether the final version of the Plan takes into account the knowledge learned from the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic and is therefore in discontinuity compared to what is foreseen in the 2021-2023 Plan.
“With respect to the methods of taking decisions during the pandemic – specified Schillaci – if it is not sufficient for the overall governance of the multiplicity of interests and sectors affected by the health emergency, the choice of a legislative instrument, through the involvement of the Parliament, appears to be the most suitable means to guarantee the unity of direction of government action and the balancing of multiple public interests”.
“Finally, with respect to the issue of discontinuity – concluded the minister – it seems excessive to point out that the old plan concerned the response to a possible pandemic from influenza A and B viruses, while the current plan concerns the response to a pandemic from potentially unknown respiratory pathogens. In conclusion, I would like you to consider this Pandemic Plan as a preventive strategy, which we now finally have, for the protection of our community. It is designed to mobilize every necessary resource and action, in proportion to the severity of a possible emergency, always with the supreme goal of preserving what is most precious: life, liberty and well-being of every Italian citizen”.
“I would have liked to talk about an official document and not drafts, but out of respect for the institutions, I find myself responding to sentences extrapolated from a constantly evolving draft. The main objective of this Strategic Plan is to protect the health and safety of the population by ensuring access to medical care as much as possible during a sudden pandemic. The draft is being discussed at the Permanent Conference for relations between the State, the Regions and the autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano”, explains the minister further on the differences of the new plan compared to the measures adopted by previous Governments during the pandemic.
The draft “was prepared by a working group that included representatives of the Regions and autonomous provinces, ISS, Aifa, Agenas, Inail, Civil Protection department, General Inspectorate of Military Health (Igesan), National Anti-Pandemic Center (Cnap ) and designated experts and is, therefore, the result of a long and elaborate discussion which today leads us to incorporate most of the additions, observations and modifications received from the interlocutors – the minister specified -. The document is still under review both through meetings with the Technical Coordination of the Regional Health Commission and through internal reviews and with the ministries involved, also with the aim of adapting the text to the legitimate observations received”.
“Contrary to PanFlu – reiterated Schillaci – it is not limited to the preparation and response to a pandemic caused by influenza A and B viruses, but rather to the preparation and response to pandemics caused by possible respiratory pathogens, both viral and bacterial. The document represents a planning tool for the interpandemic phase as well as a technical tool to support decisions that can be adopted at different administrative and legislative levels and by various actors in the alert and response phases”.
“I want to highlight that it is a plan for the emergency management of potentially unknown pathogens and that describes and lists the currently available public health tools that can be applied, in a graduated manner, in relation to the extent and severity of the emergency. The draft plan highlights the importance of collaboration between the Ministry of Health, local authorities, health institutions and the population to effectively deal with a pandemic. Great importance – Schillaci remarked – is given to communication and information to the population. A crucial element is the effort to systematize and enhance the coordination structures, surveillance systems, health services, all with a view to the harmonious development of interactions among the actors involved”.
“Plan it does not limit itself to predicting possible epidemiological scenarios and containment measuresbut, for the first time, outlines an enhancement of essential services, such as: the Departments of prevention, emergency-urgency, research, the network of virology and microbiology laboratories as well as hospital-territory integration. With regard to the restriction of personnel spending limits, we are working on gradually releasing and overcoming them. It is clear that in the event of a pandemic, in order to guarantee safety and assistance to the population, the roofs will be remeasured. We are obviously proceeding with the economic quantification relating to the details of the costs deriving from the implementation of the interventions described and the illustration of the calculation criteria for determining the estimated amount. This is a Plan that for the first time is updated, punctual and scrupulously complies with technical-scientific criteria and international directives”, he said again.
“This The Government, compared to those who have photocopied an old 2006 plan for years, makes decisions with the awareness of their choices. I am heartened to read the comments of authoritative fellow virologists who underline how this is a real plan and which also respects the freedoms of the population by providing flexible guidelines and invoking restrictive measures only as a last resort. It is a fact, not an opinion, that there was no adequate pandemic plan before. We now have and are preparing a document that not only exists but follows correct times and procedures. This is a concrete and tangible step forward towards more responsible and prepared management for health emergencies”, he said, responding in the Senate.
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