Continue the drop in Covid hospitalizations in Italy. In the last week they have dropped by 9.6%, after the -9.8% recorded in the previous one, following the constant growth observed between 22 November and 13 December. The figure for intensive care is stable, where the percentage of unvaccinated patients grows to 30% (they were 18% in the previous survey), with an average age of 71 years. This is what emerges from the latest report of the sentinel hospitals belonging to the Fiaso network, the Italian federation of healthcare and hospital companies.
Analyzing the overall data – Fiaso details – 35% of patients are hospitalized ‘for Covid’, or because they have developed the Covid disease with respiratory failure or pneumonia. And more than 80% of these patients hospitalized for Covid have not received the expected booster dose in the last 180 days, despite being over 70 and frail.
In hospital wards, 65% of patients with Sars-CoV-2 infection fall into the ‘with Covid’ category, i.e. patients who have arrived at the hospital for the treatment of other pathologies, are positive for the virus, but have no respiratory symptoms and pulmonary. A trend that has remained constant in recent weeks. 70% of these patients with Covid are hospitalized in ‘bubbles’, or isolation rooms identified in hospital wards for those who are positive but must mainly treat other pathologies.
With regard to children and adolescents, the number of patients under the age of 18 hospitalized in the four pediatric hospitals and in the pediatric wards of the hospitals of the Fiaso sentinel network has decreased by 24%, the Federation points out. Only one patient is in intensive care ‘with Covid’, in the 0-6 month age group. 69% of pediatric patients infected with Sars-CoV-2 are aged between 0 and 4 years.
“We recommend a mask to over 60 and fragile”
“We still recommend the use of the mask for the over 60s and people with frailty. It is very important to stem the serious complications that could lead to new stress in our hospital facilities in the coming weeks”. It is Fiaso’s suggestion.
Chinese
“Despite the drop” in Covid hospitalizations “also recorded this week” in Italy, “the risk due to a new viral circulation from foreign countries that are registering a worrying increase in the number of infections, such as China, should not be underestimated pave the way for the development of new viral variants that may be potentially more dangerous”, is the warning launched by Giovanni Migliore, president of Fiaso.
“We must insist on vaccinating elderly and frail patients”, reiterates Migliore. “Adhesion to the booster against Covid and the flu vaccination is still low – he notes – An effort must be made by family doctors, to ensure that those who need it are protected against respiratory pathologies which in these festive days can pose a health risk”.