Covid, hospitalizations and deaths rise. Few fourth doses

Once again,

its head and pushes the curves of the epidemic upwards.

In fact, in the last seven days, infections, hospitalizations in ordinary wards and even deaths have increased, while he continues to drop the number of fourth doses of vaccine administered.

The latest data from the independent monitoring of

has resumed massive circulation and now there is also the problem of the over

, especially frail and elderly, who, having instead taken the fourth dose for over

with a greater risk of hospitalisation.

In the last seven days,

notes , infections from Covid-19 have

.

Ordinary hospitalizations also rose (+9.1%) and deaths increased again (+8.8%), while intensive care remained substantially stable (+1.2%).

Compared to the previous week, there was an increase in new cases (229,122 against 208,346), deaths (580 against 533) and hospitalizations (7,613 against 6,981).

In hospitals, on the other hand, the number of Covid beds occupied in critical areas, after reaching a minimum of 203 on November 10,

;

in the medical area, after reaching a low of 6,347 on November 11, they reached 7,613 on November 24.

Also as of November 24, the national occupation rate by Covid patients is

.

Moreover, the administrations of the fourth dose of the vaccine (-14.5%) are still decreasing in seven days and almost 3 out of 4 people are currently uncovered. The national coverage rate for the fourth doses, in fact, is 25.9 % with clear regional differences (from 11.8% in Calabria to 39.1% in Piedmont).

Overall, to date the fourth doses administered are 5,013,957.

The data, explains

, "confirm the widespread recovery of viral circulation which remains clearly underestimated due to the widespread use of do-it-yourself tampons and which is beginning to have an impact in particular on hospitalizations in the medical area. In the face of a virus that is rearing its head, administrations continue to drop of the fourth doses for the elderly and frail and in this context - he underlines - the choice of the Ministry of Health to wait until December 1 to start the communication plan on the vaccination campaign is inexplicable ".

Another factor is also worrying, namely the lack of data relating to the fifth vaccination dose.

If the fourth dose still does not take off, in fact, at the same time the problem of the fifth immunization arises for those who have had the fourth dose for over 4 months and are therefore not fully protected.

In Italy, Cartabellotta notes, "today there are over 2.38 million people who have received the fourth dose for more than 120 days: these are mainly elderly and frail people, for whom the decline in vaccine efficacy in a context of increased viral circulation increases the risk of serious illness, hospitalization and death".

But on the administration of the fifth dose, he underlines, "we have no data, despite the Ministry of Health recommending a further dose to risk categories - i.e. over 80, guests of the

120 days after the previous immunization or from infection".

Meanwhile, the cases of seasonal flu are also increasing and the virologist

aimed primarily at the elderly and frail: "The peak of the flu is expected at the end of December: although there is still time to get vaccinated, it is good to do it immediately as the immune response to vaccination takes about two weeks to fully develop."

To date, according to an Ipsos survey for Sanofi on a

have undergone the