According to experts, in the coming time, although the number of cases increases, the number of people with severe symptoms and deaths will not change much.
According to the latest statistics of the Ministry of Health, on average, in the past 7 days, Vietnam has recorded about 2 deaths from Covid-19 every day. The number of Covid-19 deaths regularly ranges from 0 to 2 people per day. Typically, on August 30, the country had 4 more deaths.
Up to now, the total number of Covid-19 patients who have died in Vietnam is 43,117, accounting for 0.4% of all nCoV infections.
A survey by Zing at the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the medical facility that receives all severe cases of Covid-19 in the North, showed that over the past several months, the average number of patients who died was at a low level, about 4-5 cases/month.
Severe cases, deaths are mainly elderly people
Talking to Zing, Doctor Pham Van Phuc, deputy head of the Intensive Care Unit, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, said that by the end of August 30, the department treats a total of 40 Covid-19 patients with severe development. In parallel, about 6-10 patients are rotated daily with the lines.
Severe cases of Covid-19 being treated at the Intensive Care Unit of the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases are mainly elderly people with many underlying diseases. Photo: Quoc Toan.
Regarding treatment, doctors of the ICU currently have to handle 20 mechanical ventilation cases and one case of cardiopulmonary intervention (ECMO).
Meanwhile, the total number of Covid-19 patients being treated at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases is currently 122 cases. 60 of these cases progressed seriously.
Most recently, on August 29, the department just received a male patient (79 years old, residing in Nam Dinh) hospitalized due to Covid-19 with severe development with underlying diseases including hypertension, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. and have not been vaccinated against the disease.
According to Dr. Phuc, this case developed very quickly, worsened after only 2 days and went into shock. The patient is currently on mechanical ventilation but the prognosis is very severe.
“The critical patients because of Covid-19 are mainly elderly people with many underlying diseases, very few young cases. The number of severe Covid-19 patients who are children is also very small,” said Dr. Phuc.
In the past two months, the Intensive Care Unit only received 3 cases of children with Covid-19 and severe symptoms. One child in this group had underlying myasthenia gravis and all had not been vaccinated against Covid-19.
Regarding deceased patients, the department’s statistics show that the average age of Covid-19 deaths is 75 years old. Many cases even 90-100 years old.
About 20% of patients in the severe disease group have not received the Covid-19 vaccine. Photo: Quoc Toan.
“The current problem is that many elderly patients, after finishing Covid-19 treatment, still have the consequences of the disease, forcing them to depend on ventilators, severely deteriorating health, thereby requiring long-term medical intervention”, said Dr. Phuc.
On the other hand, the expert said that currently, about 20% of patients treated at the department have not yet received the Covid-19 vaccine, including the basic one.
“In theory, the age group with underlying medical conditions should be given priority to receive the Covid-19 vaccine to reduce the risk of severe complications and death. However, it is these people and their families, who are concerned about side effects, decide not to inject. When he got sick, his condition worsened,” said the deputy head of the intensive care unit.
However, he also added that there are still cases where the injection of the basic dose, even the second booster dose, is severe. The expert said that this also depends on the patient’s ability to respond to immunity from the vaccine.
However, up to now, vaccination is still the main method of protection against Covid-19. The ability to limit the risk of serious complications and death of vaccines has been clearly demonstrated.
However, viruses do change over time. Recently, we have also seen many new strains appear and their ability to evade immunity.
“However, most of the new strains show less virulence than previous strains like Delta. Therefore, although the number of infected people may increase, the number of severe cases and deaths will not increase as high as in the previous period,” said Dr. Phuc.
When are young people at risk of dying from Covid-19?
Although not much, Dr. Pham Van Phuc said that young people are still at risk of severe complications when infected with Covid-19. Through actual treatment, the expert said that most of these cases were determined to have HIV or diseases that cause immunodeficiency.
Typically, recently, the Intensive Care Unit received a male patient (36 years old, living in Dien Bien) who had Covid-19 and was in shock. After admission, this patient tested positive for HIV and is on maintenance of vasopressors and oxygen glasses.
Very few young patients develop severe disease due to Covid-19, except for those with underlying medical conditions and weakened immune systems. Photo: Quoc Toan.
Doctor Phuc affirmed: “Most of the cases of young people today when infected with Covid-19, are mild. Severe cases are mainly due to HIV infection, blood cancer, leukemia, marrow failure, organ transplant… At this time, the patient’s immune system is very poor, causing the disease to progress quickly and very seriously.”
For this subject, the expert recommends that at the present time, the best thing to do is to fully vaccinate according to the instructions, and at the same time avoid going to too many crowded places and infecting elderly family members at home.
@ Zing News