The World Health Organization and the European Union (EU) stressed this Wednesday that the coronavirus pandemic is not over and that it is necessary to protect the health of the population, especially the most vulnerable.
“Although we are not in the same place as a year ago, it is clear that the covid-19 pandemic is not over.. We see rising indicators again in Europe, suggesting that another wave of infections has begun“, is stated in a joint statement by WHO-Europe, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Commission (EC).
The potential simultaneous circulation of covid-19 and seasonal flu increase the risk of severe disease and death in vulnerable people, which would increase the pressure on hospitals and health personnel, “already exhausted after almost three years on the front line of the pandemic.”
Hence, these organizations highlight the importance of public health measures and vaccination, “our most effective tool”.
“We urge the countries of the European region to prioritize the protection of the most vulnerable groups by administering vaccines against influenza and covid-19 jointly when feasible,” they point out.
Millions of people have not yet been vaccinated against the coronavirus, so governments must increase efforts to receive them, including booster doses, combined with the flu, especially health personnel, those over 60 years of age , pregnant women and people with underlying diseases.
“The southern hemisphere, where winter just ended, experienced an early and very active flu season.. We don’t know exactly what to expect in the European region, but we could see a similar scenario.”
Saturation in German hospitals
The rapid increase in covid infections in a new autumn wave is pushing German hospitals to the limit of their capacityas warned today by the president of the Association of German Hospitals, Gerald Gaß.
The number of beds occupied by positive patients has increased by 50% compared to last week and hospitals are facing “extremely difficult weeks”, he told the “RND” media group.
For his part, the director of the Intensive Medicine Registry (DIVI), Christian Karagiannidis, explained to this same media group that in some German regions there are already outbreaks in which There are hardly any free beds in the Intensive Care Units.
According to DIVI data, there are currently some 1,660 positive patients for coronavirus admitted to German ICUs, of which approximately 50% requires treatment for the effects of the virus
Infections among hospital staff and the consequent sick leave pose an added problem for medical centers, which already operate with a chronic lack of professionals.
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