The epidemic is slowing down, for various reasons, stated Minister of health Janez Poklukar this week. In addition to vaccination and the effect of measures from the beginning of May, we have warmer months on our side. The head of the advisory group at the Ministry of Health Mateja Logar stressed that Slovenia is still far from the green phase under the ECDC criteria.

The logistical coordinator of the Covid-19 vaccination emphasised that the epidemiological situation reflected an increasing proportion of vaccinated people, especially among more vulnerable members of the population. A greater number of vaccinations impedes the spread the virus, as is reflected by the encouraging test results which show that the number of new infections is reducing. According to the National Institute of Public Health, 635,433 adults or 36.8% of the population have been vaccinated with the first dose, and 348,080 or 20.2% are vaccinated with a second dose.

Nevertheless, pandemics always end, encoureged Ms Grmek Košnik at one of the press conferences in the last week. At some point, she said, this virus too will join the handful of human coronaviruses that cause colds. The experience from the last four pandemics shows that viruses transition from pandemic agents to endemic sources of disease within one and half to two years after their emergence. However, all these pandemics were influenza pandemics. The different pathogen we are witnessing now could mean a new pattern.