What you can’t get past is the contamination. This will “happen”, said the crisis coordinator.
What exactly this means and how an infection affects immunity in the population is open, as the Medical Director of the Ordensklinikum, Michael Girschikofsky, explains when asked by OÖN: “Whether Omikron is the grand finale or another episode, you know we don’t yet. ” It is clear that if there is a high incidence of infections, the hospitals could come back to the limit of the burden despite fewer hospital stays.
- ZIB 1: The omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading faster and faster in Austria. This is currently not noticeable in the hospitals, but there is great concern. The most prominent newly infected is Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP).
High at the end of February
This is also shown by the calculations that simulation researcher Niki Popper creates for the state of Upper Austria. According to the forecasts made by the OÖN, a seven-day incidence of just under 5000 is expected in Upper Austria at the end of January / beginning of February. The highest value so far was on November 20, 2021 with an incidence of 1682.
According to the calculations, the result of the wave is a bed occupancy in the normal wards with 500 Covid patients and 120 Covid patients in intensive care units in mid / end of February. For comparison: on December 1, 2021, 138 Covid patients were treated in the intensive care units in Upper Austria.
- ZIB 1: Safety concept for starting school
Conversely, a high incidence of infection could lead to a subsequent high level of immunity in the population – so the hope of those who advocate an infection. But this hope could be a deceptive one, said Girschikofsky: “We don’t know whether that will bring any lasting benefits.” Because: “Another variant could then develop and there is again no immunity against a new variant. In addition, one does not know how long the antibodies of a variant last.”
There have already been cases in which people have been infected with the corona virus several times: “The antibodies of one variant do not have the same effect against a new variant.”
The vaccination rate slows down
This is also shown by calculations made by Popper for Gecko. In the case of the Delta variant, around 80 percent are already immune from vaccinations and infections. “With the dominance of the Omikron variant, the immunity level drops significantly to around 55 percent, which roughly corresponds to the delta value from mid-August,” writes Popper. Most of the immunity to Omikron is due to vaccination.
Last but not least, Girschikofsky is happy that the government is still sticking to the mandatory vaccination. Because boosted you have the most comprehensive protection.
The vaccination quota (valid vaccination certificate) in Austria is currently 70.51 percent of the population. 74.31 percent received at least one vaccination. The vaccination rate has recently decreased significantly again. On December 17, 2021, 130,417 vaccinations were carried out (90,181 of which were third stitches). The following day, only 77,035 vaccinations were given. Unsurprisingly, there were hardly any vaccinations on the public holidays; very few were carried out on January 1, 2022: 3175 were vaccinated on New Year’s Day.
- ZIB 1: From Tuesday, the 2-G controls will be tightened in stores. In the shops, checks must be carried out either at the entrance or at the cash register.
Although the numbers have been rising again since then, the level is significantly lower than before Christmas. On January 5th, a total of 52,996 people received a corona vaccination, 32,617 of them were the third sting.
Upper Austria is and will remain at the bottom of the vaccination rate. 66.3 percent of the population have a valid vaccination certificate. Burgenland has the highest vaccination rate with 76 percent, followed by Lower Austria with 72.6 percent and Styria with 70.6 percent.
Source: Nachrichten
