Rapid growth in the number of Covid cases could put pressure on the country’s health system again | National Magazine

In a referral hospital for severe acute respiratory syndrome cases in São Paulo, the occupancy rate fluctuates along with the speed of transmission of the virus. today, 60% of intensive care beds are occupied by patients with respiratory syndrome, the vast majority of whom have influenza. Immediately after the new year, the rate reached 70%. Among those infected with Covid, the Most of them are occupied by patients who have not been fully immunized.

“In the case of Covid, most patients … There are many patients who are hospitalized there with some incomplete vaccinations, and often the vaccination schedule is incomplete. We also have patients who have not They are vaccinated.”

a World Health Organization It reported that 90% of hospitalized patients with severe cases of Covid worldwide are not vaccinated.

a Fucruz He warns that the rapid and expressive growth in the number of Covid cases could stress the health system again. Even because in many states, beds allotted to patients with coronavirus have been closed, with epidemic data improving in the second half of 2021. Thus, the percentage of occupied beds indicates a much smaller number of vacancies that existed before vaccination.

a Fucruz They analyzed the evolution of intensive care unit occupancy between December 20, 2021 and January 5, 2022. There has been a significant increase in the number of patients in hospitals in states such as Tocantins, Alagoas, Espírito Santo, Goias and Minas Gerais.. Countries that do not currently have the same number of beds as in recent months, such as Alagoas, where beds have been reduced by half. There, the intensive care unit occupancy rate jumped from 20% to 68%. Piaui, Pernambuco and Bahia have increased the supply of intensive care beds in recent weeks to meet demand.

searching from Fucruz Explain that, with a large part of the population vaccinated, and less severe disease caused by microns, What will increase the pressure on hospitals is the massive infection capacity of the new strain. Even causing less serious illness, if more people catch it, more patients end up looking for emergency wards and rooms..

Margaret Portella, researcher at Fucruz.

“We estimate that about 1% of cases will eventually need beds because of a serious illness caused by this new strain that is spreading among us. Now it all depends, the numbers are very relative, 1% in 100 is very few people, but 1% in a million is no longer A little thing. They are many,” explains the researcher from Fucruz Margaret Dalcolmo.

Vaccination is now more urgent.

“The fact that the population is protected definitely makes a difference in terms of people’s response. I mean, a large number of infections without much severity,” says Margaret Portela.

“The most important and strategic thing for everyone is that the more we are vaccinated with booster doses, the more we will be protected from a strain that, as we know, is almost impossible not to contaminate,” highlights Dalcolmo.