"It seems that in two weeks we will be here with thousands of patients, we are heading towards a wave we have not seen before, the numbers are higher," warns the Corona's commissioner at the Ministry of Health, Prof. Salman Zarka, in a conversation with Israel Today.
He said, "The Delta was a very contagious wave, while the Omicron is two to four times more contagious. The fact that we are today with 175 verified to the Omicron is a result of our rapid action three weeks ago, when we stopped tourism. Without it we could be with thousands, The speed at which they said we were hysterical. "
Prof. Zarka notes that the strategy is to open about 500 immunization points by the end of the week, which will also be opened in malls and community centers alongside vaccine mobility, and to vaccinate children and adults with high availability and accessibility.
"We are very disturbed by the wave of the omicron, which has already started," he added.
"If you look at Europe, you realize that we are at a profit of two weeks and a maximum of three, and we are trying to translate that into more protected among the population."
Prof. Zarqa notes that the best protection is in vaccines: "This week we are at 80 vaccination points and we want to grow to 500-400, and I hope it will happen during the week and early next week. We owe it to the citizens, with the understanding that it is not right to meet "The omicron when you are not protected. In addition, we work to make the HMOs accessible, so that no one will have a problem getting there and getting vaccinated. We will wash the country with vaccines."
Child vaccines, archive, Photo: Gideon Markowitz
"From indifference to panic"
A senior Corona official points out that the epidemiological investigation system is not prepared for an increase in the number of verified people, and that additional staff needs to be recruited immediately: " For interrogation of 1,000 to 3,000 verified per day.
"The reason we are not doing this is because there are those who do not approve a budget, and it is frustrating. If we do not build the force quickly now, we will not be able to keep up with the pace of investigations, unequivocally. In two or three weeks we will have a hard time."
The source added: "The omicron wave is an unprecedented event. In the UK, 100,000 are verified and will reach 500,000 by the end of the week. "Health in the UK is collapsing, demand for immunization in Israel will begin. There will be queues and complexity."
Corona examination, Photo: Yehoshua Yosef
Prof. Zarqa commented on the claim about the lack of preparation for epidemiological investigations: "We said between the waves that we would adjust ourselves to the number of patients.
He also said that today there will be a discussion with the Ministry of Finance on strengthening the health system for the fifth wave.
The discussion will focus on additional personnel, which due to the lack of medical staff will be based mainly on the medical corps to assist with home hospitalizations and the use of non-specialist medical and nursing staff.
Members of the epidemic treatment team will hold a follow-up discussion tomorrow evening on administering a fourth dose of vaccine to a very elderly population and those who have been vaccinated.
They will also discuss the health system's preparations for the expected load in the fifth wave and the response to verified and isolated staff members.
The encouraging study
Meanwhile, a study at the University of Hong Kong found for the first time a clear indication of the mode of action in which the omicron variant acts against the body cells in the respiratory system.
According to this study, he knows how to infect cells and replicate himself at a rate 70 times greater than the delta in the trachea, which may explain why he infects faster.
Corona Department at Shaare Zedek Hospital, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
On the other hand, the study shows that the variant's ability to infect cells within the lungs is significantly lower than that of the original virus (Muhan), which may explain why variants of the variant infection do not necessarily have a greater risk of developing severe symptoms and death.
The study is currently under peer review.
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