Clarifications for Omicron mutation gave on Friday (17/12) the Minister of Health of South Africa. According to the data so far, those who have been ill by another Covid 19 strain and those who have been vaccinated help to make the disease from the new variant milder.
“Vaccines and high levels of pre-infection from COVID-19 help to keep the disease milder in a wave caused by the coronavirus’s Micron mutation,” he said.
There are early unofficial reports that appear to indicate that Omicron causes less severe disease than previous variants in South Africa, but scientists say it is too early to draw firm conclusions.
The country recorded a record number of daily infections earlier this week, according to the Athens News Agency.
“We believe that it may not necessarily mean that the Omicron mutation is less contagious, but…. “Vaccine coverage (and) φυσ the natural immunity of people who have already been exposed to the virus also adds to the protection,” Health Minister Joe Faala told a news conference. “That’s why we see mild illness,” he added.
44% of South African adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine
South Africa has given at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine to 44% of its adult population, a percentage higher than many African countries but much lower than the government’s end-of-year target. However, over the age of 50, vaccination coverage levels exceed 60%.
Speaking at the same press conference, Michelle Grumm of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) said there was an upward trend in hospitalizations and deaths.
«We are beginning to see a small increase in deaths nationally, but again this level is much lower even than we saw in the reference period between the second and third wave, “said Grumm, who heads the NICD’s public health, surveillance and response department.
South Africa: 3.5% of deaths had been vaccinated more than five or six months before
NICD Public Health Specialist Wassila Jasat estimated that of the COVID-19 hospital-related deaths since mid-November, more than half were people who had co-morbidities or were rather elderly, and “a good proportion they were hospitalized for other reasons and died of other causes “.
He said vaccination data for those who died were incomplete, but it emerged from information provided by them that 93% of the deaths were people who had either not been vaccinated or had not been fully vaccinated. He added that another 3.5% of those who had died had been vaccinated more than five or six months earlier.
Faala said the first indications were that the infections may have peaked in the densely populated province of Gauteng, where the first infections occurred.
He added that next week the Ministry of Health will inform the National Board of Directors about the Coronavirus if the restrictions due to COVID-19 need to be adjusted.
President Cyril Ramafoza, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, is making progress in his recovery from COVID-19 and continues to receive treatment for mild symptoms, the presidency said today.
Ramafoza received the Johnson & Johnson monosodium vaccine in February.
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