The rebound in covid infections has not accelerated hospitalizations: Ssa

Alonso Urrutia and Emir Olivares

Newspaper La Jornada
Wednesday December 14, 2022, p. fifteen

During the last week, 1,818 new cases of covid were reported, a figure slightly lower than the previous week, when 1,994 were registered, according to official figures presented by the Undersecretary for Prevention and Health Promotion, Hugo López-Gatell. He stressed that in this new wave the increase in infections fortunately has not had the same rate as hospitalizations and deaths.

At the presidential conference, he specified that hospitalization did not increase at the same speed, the occupancy of general beds for respiratory infection that requires hospitalization rose one percentage point, it is at 4 percent. Fan beds, which are for the critically ill, are holding steady at 2 percent. It does not mean that it will stay that way, it is likely that there will be some increase for a few weeks.

He stressed that the lethality of this disease has been gradually reduced in successive waves, recalling that the second and third recorded significant levels of deaths, but, as a result of vaccination (which reaches 84 percent of the population), the number of deaths has been reduced. impact of the disease. López-Gatell pointed out that there is a conviction in the scientific community that the covid will become a seasonal winter illness, like the rest of the respiratory diseases, and the waves will no longer appear in spring-summer.

On the other hand, he reported that there has been a 62 percent advance in the sectoral coverage in the application of the influenza vaccine, recalling that this is a biological that is not of general application but is aimed at high-risk people: over 60 years of age, pregnant women and children under five years of age.

The effect of the vaccine is not to prevent contagion, but to reduce the risks, but healthy young people flock to the flu vaccination booths and this takes away the opportunity for the people who really benefit from the flu vaccine, which are the population groups that I have mentionedexposed.

When asked about the mandatory restitution of the use of face masks, he stressed that the health policy measures in this administration are not imposed, but rather the conviction of the population is sought. He pointed out that the use of the mask is useful in closed spaces such as transportation.