According to the director of Epidemiology and Demography of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection Julián Fernández Niño, in practically the whole world, except Japan, a new peak has been generated by the wave of the omicron variant, displacing the other variants.
(New measures against omicron: time for reinforcements is reduced).
“In Colombia, more than 95% of the genomic surveillance isolates correspond to the omicron variant. Where omicron reaches, it becomes dominant, and where it becomes dominant, it generates abrupt peaks”, assured.
He also pointed out that this is probably the most contagious respiratory virus known to humans, but fortunately it is less severe. However, he clarified that this does not mean that there are no people who die from omicron, but that the probability is less, especially in unvaccinated people, vaccinated with an incomplete schedule, or vaccinated with a full schedule without booster and comorbidities.
(The events that have already been postponed in Colombia and the world by omicron).
“The proportion of people who die from omicron is much lower than from the other variants of concern and from the wild variant, the original one,” he added.
In Colombia, the pandemic has been asynchronous and that means that the new peak occurs by region, for example Cali, Medellín and Bogotá, which present an abrupt increase in cases, the increase in deaths is not proportional to the cases, it is less.
In the case of Barranquilla, although its peak in cases has just begun, deaths have not changed and the curve remains flat. The capital of the Atlantic has high rates of vaccination coverage and seroprevalence. In addition, in general terms in the country, although the curve of cases does not exceed the previous peaks, a very high speed is observed with respect to the previous behavior of the virus.
In terms of deaths, there is an increase, which basically corresponds to Cali, mainly in unvaccinated people, with incomplete schedule or over 60 years without reinforcement, “That is why it is so important to increase vaccination coverage both in the initial scheme and in the boosters”, the official said.
Fernández Niño pointed out that the omicron variant poses new challenges in the provision of health services, therefore, Home care and telemedicine should be strengthened to treat covid at home and not congest front door services, such as emergencies and outpatients.
(Increased cases of omicron could create more dangerous variants).
He also recalled the need to prioritize and make rational use of diagnostic tests for those who need them most, as well as the need to apply the booster dose to raise antibody levels. In addition, he mentioned that, with the changes in the criteria for applying tests, positivity will be measured with other indicators such as: involvement in the population at risk, ICU occupation, general hospitalization, and deaths. But he stressed that prioritizing tests is not prohibiting them, so doctors, under clinical criteria, can order them to whomever they consider.
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