A survey conducted in Greece by the polling
company Metron Analysis on behalf of the Greek TV channel MEGA from September
23-29 has yielded interesting results.
In particular, according to the survey, 70%, or 7 out of 10 Greeks are of
the opinion that the coronavirus can be transmitted through Holy Communion, while only 22% believe that it cannot.
Also, 81% of Greek citizens say that the mask protects against the spread of coronavirus, but 17% do not believe they do.
Meanwhile, 59%, or 6 out of 10 say that if there is a vaccine they would take it,
but 35%, or 1 out of 3 say that
they would not.
The Professor of Microbiology at the University of West Attica and
a member of the committee of the Ministry of Health for the coronavirus,
Alkiviadis Vatopoulos, expressed his own scientific position on the
subject of Holy Communion on Monday afternoon, speaking on prime
time news of the TV station Kontra.
Asked by the presenter whether he is concerned about the issue of Holy Communion,
the Professor of Microbiology noted that “it is more a matter of
overcrowding in the churches, which I think has been addressed.”
Taking the opportunity from the answer of Vatopoulos, the journalist
asked: “Is it not a matter of using the same utensil?” The
professor replied that “this for me has clearly less epidemiological
risk” and added that “the main danger is the overcrowding, which is remedied
with the reduction of people in the church, with the use of masks and
with the encouragement to the vulnerable groups to watch the service
from their home and not go to church.”
Asked to give more details on how epidemiologically the risk of using
the same utensil with someone else is lower, the Professor of Microbiology said that “it is not a food borne disease, it is transmitted with
breathing and droplets, so it is not transmitted by
drinking something, but by breathing onto something.”
Returning to the subject of Holy Communion, the journalist asked
for a more specific position from Vatopoulos, “Are there no droplets
left on the spoon from one person to the next, and then the next one to come after?” The professor answered that “we eat the droplets that remain on
the spoon, we do not inhale them,” while closing this discussion he
clarified that “there is a danger, I do not dispute that it [the use of a common spoon] is unhealthy, I'm just saying that the main problem is
overcrowding, which is the most important risk.”
