Omicron. The situation in hospitals. Gilerac: There is a positive scenario going on

The number of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Poland has increased rapidly in recent weeks. However, this has not yet translated into the number of seriously ill people who go to Polish hospitals.

A week ago, 1,271 patients with Covid-19 virus benefited from a ventilator, and on Friday, January 28, the Ministry of Health announced the presence of 1,074 of those.

– So it is very reasonable to ask today: Who are the patients being brought into our hospitals in this wave of infections mainly caused by the Omikron variant? First of all, people with severe pneumonia do not develop, which was the bane of previous waves. What is more, Most of them are patients who go to hospital due to exacerbation of chronic diseases – said the professor. Grzegorz Gielerak.

In his opinion, “the result of the health debt that has accumulated during the pandemic.” In these patients, we often discover the coronavirus by chance, during routine tests performed prior to admission to hospital. In fact It is not the coronavirus infection that determines their hospitalization, but the health effects of restrictions on access to the health care system that accompany epidemics – he decided.

As he noted, in Poland, clear increases in the number of infections were recorded due to the spread of Omicron for two weeks, which does not translate into an increase in the number of hospitalizations, as was the case during previous increases in infections.

– In fact, we should already witness the peak of acceptanceAnd what we are very pleased with, so far we do not notice in our facilities – he explained.

According to the professor. Gillirac, that could definitely turn around in a few days The discussion about universal testing and the organization of the entire healthcare system around the task of combating the direct effects of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic will be pointless.

However, when thinking seriously and responsibly toward the future, start rolling out previous public health classifications, including deaths from pneumonia, influenza or pneumonia, influenza, and COVID-19, today and focus on a new category: risks common to all respiratory infections and viral infections. With the definition of the peak threshold for the above-mentioned cumulative risk of diseases per unit time, eg a week – they are described.

“Standards must also be established in terms of the number of deaths and hospitalizations to impose or ease restrictions on public health and social and economic life,” he added.

– However It is not only setting a new standard for pandemic threats that should focus our attention today. It is necessary to start building a strategy with full responsibility that defines ways to achieve the goals of the new reality – this was stated by the head of the Military Institute of Medicine.

According to the expert, the strategy consists of three points. The first is the implementation of new information systems in state health inspection units.

It will be a state-of-the-art data infrastructure that enables the collection of comprehensive, real-time information on viral respiratory infections: hospitalization, mortality and genetic data along with traditional clinical and epidemiological information critical to reliably controlling the epidemic.

– The second objective should be to plan and implement the targeted investments and reforms needed to prepare for future SARS-CoV-2 variants and other emerging viruses.. The third element is the organization of human resources ready to implement public health recommendations with the aim of creating a resilient and responsive environmental health system in crisis, concluded the professor. Grzegorz Gielerak.