Israel suddenly has an omicron problem: hospitals full of seriously ill patients
Created: 02/10/2022 05:28
By: Martina Lippl
Israel is currently reporting a high number of seriously ill Covid 19 patients.
Did the country underestimate itself when it came to the omicron wave?
Tel Aviv – In the corona pandemic, Israel* was celebrated as the world champion in vaccination.
The country presented the booster vaccinations.
Now in the Omicron wave, the fourth vaccination, especially for older people, is part of the Corona* strategy.
But the hospitals in Israel are currently full of seriously ill Covid 19 patients.
There are more than ever since the outbreak of the pandemic.
At the weekend, the number of seriously ill corona patients exceeded 1,200 for the first time.
The country records record values for new infections every day.
On Tuesday alone, 37,559 positive corona tests were recorded.
Does Israel really have the omicron wave under control?
Omicron wave in Israel - peak already passed?
"It will take a few more weeks before we reach lower numbers," said Prof. Eran Segel from the Weizmann Institute in Rechovot, as reported by
The Jerusalem Post
.
The high number of cases in the hospitals has stabilized in the last few days, and there is room for cautious optimism, said Segel.
However, the numbers are still very high, the expert admitted.
The peak of the omicron wave has already been exceeded two weeks ago.
Israel: The situation in the clinics is serious.
Experts assume that the peak of the omicron wave has long been reached.
© Gideon Markowicz/imago
"I think maybe as a country we've been a little too relaxed about ramping up omicron cases on the assumption that it's a relatively mild disease," modeler Barak Raveh of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem told the British
Telegraph
.
"Even if the disease is milder in some cases, during an intense flu season*, hospitals were overcrowded and the number of severe cases and deaths was higher than expected."
Israel | 9.4 million inhabitants |
|---|---|
Sars-CoV-2 infections since the beginning of the corona pandemic in Israel | 3,301,478 (as of February 9, 2022; source Johns Hopkins University) |
Corona deaths in Israel since the beginning of the corona pandemic | 9,303 (as of February 9, 2022; source Johns Hopkins University) |
Vaccination gaps in Israel responsible for increase in deaths?
Expert weighs
The number of deaths has risen sharply in Israel over the past month.
According to data from the Israeli Ministry of Health, the country is currently recording around five corona deaths per 100,000 inhabitants over 60 years of age.
Most deaths involve people who are unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated.
In this age group of over 60s, about 10 percent in Israel are still unvaccinated.
However, according to modeler Barak Raveh, the number of unvaccinated and the highly contagious omicron variant only provide a “partial explanation”.
The declining immune protection of the initial vaccinations also contributes to this.
Of the 822 deaths since the beginning of the year, only 293 were unvaccinated, Barak Raveh said in the
Telegraph.
The first booster shots in August may have slowed down significantly.
"At first it was assumed that this only affected infection rates, but apparently it also caused more cases of serious disease," according to modeler Barak Raveh.
At the same time, the scientist emphasizes that the vaccine is still 90 percent effective.
The fourth dose proved extraordinarily effective, recent data from Israel showed.
In those over 60, the fourth dose resulted in a 4.3-fold reduction in serious illness compared to the third dose.
Has Israel survived the Omicron wave.
The number of infections is still at a record high.
© JACK GUEZ/afp
Omicron deaths in Israel - Lauterbach warns of easing
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) drew attention to the high omicron mortality rate on Twitter.
"The new data from Israel shows a high omicron mortality, which is due to the fact that too many older people are unvaccinated," Lauterbach tweeted.
And: "So far we have been able to prevent such death rates in Germany because older unvaccinated people were protected by our measures."
On Tuesday evening on ZDF, Lauterbach again warned against premature relaxation of the corona measures.
If Germany were to follow Israel's path with no measures, Germany would have a higher death rate.
"I just can't imagine that we would be in a situation, so late in the pandemic, where we have good vaccinations, where we would then have 400, 500 deaths a day," said the Minister of Health.
The vaccination gap among the over 60-year-olds in Germany is too large.
In the age group are still too few vaccinated.
In contrast to Israel, the federal government and some states in Germany are sticking to many corona measures * - at least for now.
Israel on course to relax despite record numbers
Despite record figures, Israel is already going a step further.
As of this week, the obligation for the so-called "green passport" is largely eliminated.
Since Monday (February 7), people only have to show proof of vaccinated and recovered people at large events such as celebrations and weddings.
It is now possible to visit restaurants, cinemas and hotels without a “Green Passport” and without a negative corona test.
Even when leaving Israel, unvaccinated people no longer have to present a negative corona test.
(ml) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
