Covid-19 advisory group disbanded

Fafangel said that the state of the epidemic is stable and the situation related to Covid-19 manageable. Existing epidemic recommendations remain in place and the situation is being monitored by epidemiologists.

"We are entering the fourth year of Covid, things are fundamentally different than they were in 2020, we can no longer say that this matter is unexpected at a global level," he said. The World Health Organisation will also start to consider whether Covid-19 is still a global public health threat, Fafangel added.

Thus there is no more need for a special advisory group, with the decision to dissolve it adopted unanimously by all of its members, he explained.

The group, which became last year the successor of a first expert group as the chief advisory body meant to steer government policies in this field, held 21 meetings, adopted 28 opinions and produced two core documents.

Fafangel pointed out that last summer the group had drawn up technical readiness and response starting points and guidelines for the autumn-winter season 2022/2023. These recommendations are still valid, he stressed.

The group drew up an additional document for decision makers, which contains mid- and long-term recommendations for the management of Covid-19 and other causes of infectious diseases.

Fafangel stressed that vaccination remains the "first line of defence". Thus, a seasonal dose of Covid-19 vaccine is recommended for those over 60, as Covid-19, albeit no longer a population-wide threat, still poses a risk to individuals.

Meanwhile, Fafangel also announced he was leaving the post of the head of the NIJZ Centre for Infectious Diseases to assume other responsibilities at NIJZ. He will now focus on research and development, modelling, international missions and collaboration with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Marta Grgič Vitek, the national vaccination coordinator, will take over as head of the Centre for Infectious Diseases.

The advisory group was a successor to the first expert group on Covid-19, which was working within the Health Ministry and was initially led by infectologist Bojana Beović as it was established on 12 March 2020. After almost a year, still under the previous government, the leadership post was entrusted to Mateja Logar, also a specialist in infectology at the Ljubljana Infectious Diseases Clinic.

Fafangel was appointed to the expert group twice, but withdrew both times. When he resigned the second time, he said that the decisions taken by the group often contradicted the opinion of the epidemiological service of the NIJZ and the established protocols and working methods of epidemiologists.

The expert group proposed to be dissolved at the end of May last year, and the then Minister of Health Janez Poklukar accepted the proposal.

The new advisory group, operating within the NIJZ, started its work in June 2022. In addition to Fafangel as the head, it also featured epidemiologists Alenka Trop Skaza and Marta Grgič Vitek, immunologist Alojz Ihan, infectologist Tatjana Lejko Zupanc, anthropologist Dan Podjed, public health specialist Rade Pribaković Brinovec, microbiologist Viktorija Tomič, communication scientist Mitja Vrdelja, mathematician Janez Žibert and sanitation engineer Andreja Kukec.