All curves point downwards. Yes, not the number of vaccinated regional residents, but the statistics on the number of new infections, the number of patients in hospitals and the number of patients in intensive care units have plummeted or fallen flat since the end of January.
As of April 1, covid-19 is classified no longer as a general and socially dangerous disease.
When the Västra Götaland region, VGR, on Wednesday updated the figures for covid-19 infected patients, 151 people were hospitalized, but only four were cared for in intensive care units.
It can be compared with 446 (in hospital) and 18 (in IVA) on January 31, when the latest wave reached its peak.
At the region’s largest hospital – Sahlgrenska University Hospital – there were 88 covid patients admitted on Wednesday and at iva it is soprano – not a single patient with covid-19 is currently being cared for in Sahlgrenska’s intensive care.
– It is quite good, if you are to summarize the covid situation, says Tobias Carlson, chief physician and responsible for covid care at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, who previously led VGR’s pandemic group.
– In the statistics, everything is included, but if you break it down, you see that many of these patients have admittedly covid, but are in favor of something else. You may have broken your foot and been in for it, but if you have covid at the same time, it can be seen in the statistics, he continues.
– Chief Physician Tobias Carlson.
Photo: Björn Larsson Rosvall
Tobias Carlson would rather talk about what he calls infectious covid patients, which are the patients who are hospitalized precisely because they suffer from a covid-19 infection. He estimates that there are currently about 20 infectious covid patients on Sahlgrenska’s three plots.
– The absolute majority are patients who are very fragile and vulnerable even in ordinary cases and who probably would have had to be admitted if they had the flu or some other infection as well, he says.
In addition to the spread of infection in Västra Götaland, in addition to a certain impact on Sahlgrenska’s operations, it is low, but according to Tobias Carlson.
– It is slightly higher than a normal year, it is not high season for respiratory infections right now, but we still have a not negligible number of patients who are in contagious covid, he says.
Farshid Jalalvand, who is researching about microbiology and vaccines, tells DN that Sweden still needs to be prepared for the infection can take off in a new wave this autumn:
– During the microwave, when many did not become seriously ill, large parts of society were still paralyzed for a long period because many were at home with the disease. It can happen again towards the winter when our immunity has waned, and there can be another contagious variant, he says.
This is a scenario that Tobias Carlson does not dare to exclude.
– Those who understand viruses much better than I say that in general viruses tend to become kinder and less dangerous, but we have been cheated before.
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