Fiocruz (Fundação Oswaldo Cruz) recently made an alert about the occupancy rate of beds in the public hospital network.
In total, 10 capitals have more than 60% of ICU beds occupied by people infected by Covid-19. In this reflection of the advance of the Ômicron variant of the coronavirus across the country, the city of Goiânia recorded the highest percentage, with 94% of ICU beds occupied.
Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga has already stated that the federal government can double the number of intensive care beds to support the increased demand, if necessary.
In an interview with CNN on Monday (17), infectious disease specialist Ralcyon Teixeira said that these levels of bed occupancy “light up a yellow light”.
He highlights that, from what he has seen in hospitals, patients infected with Covid-19 who have completed the vaccination schedule against Covid-19 – with a single dose or two doses –, or who have received a booster dose, in the vast majority develop mild cases of the disease. disease.
According to the director of the Medical Division of the Institute of Infectious Diseases Emílio Ribas, 80% of those admitted to the hospital, which is a reference in the capital of São Paulo, were not vaccinated against the disease, or did not receive the second dose.
“The proportion draws a lot of attention. Four individuals who have not been vaccinated are hospitalized for each one who was vaccinated. The vaccine is not for not having the disease, but for it to have a mild form if infected”, he pointed out.
He explains that, from what he has talked to patients, most had chosen not to take the vaccine out of fear. “The baseless news that vaccines are experimental, that they can cause changes or diseases, caused fear in certain people. However, we see at the time of hospitalization that, if the person had taken the vaccine, they would not be in those conditions”, he commented.
He also explains that bed occupancy levels are not fully comparable to other phases of the pandemic.
“In 2021 we had a significant decrease in the number of cases and hospitalizations. With this significant drop, the beds that were exclusively intended for Covid-19 cases were redirected to other areas”, he argued.
“Last year we reached 15 thousand beds in the state of São Paulo, today we have just over 4 thousand”, he added.
* Under the supervision of Elis Franco
Reference: CNN Brasil
