Filenews 17 April 2021 - by Marilena Panagi
One record after another records the number of hospitalized patients, while epidemiological indicators far exceed the established safety limits, with the proportion of cases per 100,000 population approaching levels higher than those recorded since the onset of the pandemic in Cyprus.
At the same time, in the midst of vaccinations, hesitation, technical problems and daily disruption among citizens, the relevant government agencies are awaiting new decisions from the European Medicines Agency, at a time when intensive care units are suffocating and health professionals are sounding the alarm.
Just fifteen days before Easter, the Ministry of Health and scientists are regrouping and on Monday they begin recording data so that the Council of Ministers can make its decisions for the holiday season. Large relaxes are excluded. However, with the fatigue of the citizens now undeniable, everyone seems to see slight relaxes in the churches during the Week of Passions, or at least for a few days and perhaps, changes in the gatherings of citizens.
However, the updated national pandemic report, far from optimistic, sent yesterday. The epidemiological burden is very high on a pancyprian scale, with the cumulative incidence, i.e. the number of cases per 100,000 population having reached 749.5/100,000, very close to the historically highest value in the pandemic.
The largest increase is observed in the provinces of Larnaca and Nicosia. Detailed: in Famagusta reached 445.8/100.000 from 353.8/100.000, in Larnaca it increased to 773.2/100,000 from 555.7/100,000, as well as in Limassol to 934.4/100,000 from 899.7/100,000. A similar picture can be seen in Nicosia, which reached 693.1/100,000 from 524.2/100,000 and in Paphos at 478/100,000 from 359.5/100,000.
The number of reproductions remains greater than 1:1.10 while in relation to hospitalizations, there is an increasing trend in imports from the provinces of Larnaca and Nicosia. At the same time, there is an increasing trend in hospital admissions under the age of 64 with the average age of ward nurses and ICU having fallen to 62 years.
The highest rate of deaths with the underlying cause of death of COVID-19 concerns people with permanent residence in Limassol province (38%) and then the province of Nicosia (33%). Until 13 April, Limassol has the highest mortality rate per 100,000 population (41.9 deaths from 100,000 people) followed by Larnaca with 30.9 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.
As regards the deaths, as of 15 April, 343 deaths of people diagnosed with COVID-19 had been reported. Of the 343 deaths, 283 (82.5%) had the final cause of the coronavirus. However, in the first four months (until 15 April) of 2021, and after the vaccination programme was in progress, the rate of deaths of people aged 60-69 increased by 35% compared to 2020.
The epidemiological data clearly reflect the picture recorded in the last week in public hospitals, and the messages sent by health professionals show the difficult position in which the health system of the place is located. In the last 24 hours the available beds have been limited, and huge efforts have been made to make space available in the ICU.
With your eyes on EMA
At a time when the vaccination programme is progressing, very slowly, since although in the age groups by next week it is expected to fall to people under 45 years of age, in practice the number of people vaccinated remains relatively small due to the reluctance of citizens to be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is also the majority of vaccines available for Cyprus.
Speaking during a press conference, Deputy Director of Pharmaceutical Services Elena Panagiotopoulou said that "the available data say that the effectiveness of the vaccine is when 12 weeks are completed. However, some thoughts are being made to reduce it to eight weeks", and pointed out that "there will be an update when the data is analysed again".
For AstraZeneca and Johnson&Johnson vaccines, which are under review by the European Medicines Agency following blood clotting-related incidents, Mrs Panagiotopoulou referred to the new recommendations expected to be announced next week.
In particular, when asked whether any restrictions would be placed on the administration of AstraZeneca, Mrs Panagiotopoulou said that "EMA recommendations are expected", and clarified that "Cyprus, as it does in any case, will follow the possible instructions given by the European Medicines Regulatory Authority".
In response to the same question, the president of the Cyprus Medical Association Petros Agathangelou said that "any recommendation will be evaluated by the Scientific Committee of the PIS and in consultation with the Ministry of Health, the necessary scientific information will be given to the citizens". Right now, he said, the important thing is not to enter into a competition to prevent the vaccine of our choice, but to move quickly to vaccinate us. "It's not the want of the vaccine, but the need for vaccination," he said.
For her part and asked to say how the planning for priority vaccination of essential services is progressing, Dr. Kalakuta explained that "it has been evaluated by a joint committee of the ministries of health and finance and we are moving forward with people employed in ports and airports. We continue to look at the lists and we will integrate these groups and gradually go in parallel. Yes, everyone will be given the opportunity and will not be by appointment through the Vaccination Portal, but with a declaration of interest that will be made and vaccination planned."
The first concern, he said, "is not talking about vaccines but about vaccinations. We need to get vaccinated to change the situation we're in. In this context, we must act. We will have help from various sociologists, but also people who can influence to get the message of vaccinations across to younger people, who have more mobility and that's where we have the most cases."
