Filenews 30 August 2021 - by Marilena Panagi
The worst month in terms of deaths with a final cause of coronavirus is the month of August, which despite the fact that it has not yet been completed has surpassed January, the month in which the most deaths were recorded for 2021.
A characteristic of August is the fact that it shows an increase in the number of people under the age of 60 who have lost their lives, despite the fact, of course, that the vast majority of victims still belong to the older age groups.
In fact, the authorities seem to be particularly concerned by the fact that the elderly and elderly who have lost their lives have been infected while they were at home, which requires the re-informing of citizens about the protection of vulnerable groups from the coronavirus. However, these figures also sound the alarm to scientists, since 20% of the elderly who have died had a vaccination history with 10% of them being fully vaccinated since last January, which shows that the administration of a booster dose of vaccines to specific groups of the population is probably necessary.
Speaking to "F", the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Anastasia Anthousi, stressed the need for "protection of our elderly, who have already paid a high price for the pandemic since the day of the outbreak of the coronavirus in Cyprus". As Mrs. Anthousi said, "the evidence we see shows us that it is imperative that we start thinking again more seriously about our elderly, whether they are in nursing homes or in their homes and try to protect them".
Regardless of the ongoing discussions between the Ministry of Health and scientists concerning the administration of a third dose of the vaccine, said Mrs Anthousi, "as Deputy Ministry, responsible for the protection of our elderly, we have promoted a series of actions aimed at strengthening them, both in terms of their vaccination coverage, but mainly in terms of their vaccination coverage, but mainly in terms of, what is about other areas that are within our competence, such as providing services that will help them stay protected from the coronavirus, without this meaning that we have to leave them isolated in their homes."
Already, she recalled, "the joint campaign of the Deputy Ministry with the OSAK is underway, with the slogan "in this pandemic we are not leaving anyone behind. At the same time, she said, "in cooperation again with the OSAK and the federation's team of experts, as well as the Ministry of Health, the great study of all the real data currently prevailing in the communities of Cyprus is in progress. From the results of the study, we will find out if there are gaps in order to make our own decisions and make our interventions where and where it is deemed necessary."
Meeting tomorrow at the Ministry of Health
The gradual but steady increase in the number of fully vaccinated elderly people who end up in hospitals has existed for several weeks now in Cyprus, as well as throughout the world, a clear indication of the need to administer a booster dose to specific groups of the population.
According to the CySEC, while in early July the number of people over 70 years of age who were admitted for hospitalization did not exceed 15, at the moment the hospitalized elderly and elderly make up one third of all hospitalized patients with coronavirus and range between 70-80 per 24 hours.
In terms of deaths, between January 1 and August 25, 2021, 360 people died due to the coronavirus, of which 35 are under the age of 60 and the remaining 325 over 60 years of age.
In January, 74 people had died, with 72 of them over the age of 60. In February, only 32 deaths were recorded, with 30 involving the elderly. In March, 30 deaths were recorded, 26 involved elderly people, in April 54 people died, of which 47 were elderly, in May the number of deaths with a final cause of the coronavirus was 51 (45 over 60 years old), in June a total of 13 people died, of which 12 over 60 years of age died. In January, the number of coronavirus patients who died and belonged to the under-60 age group was just 2. The number of younger people who have died due to the coronavirus has been gradually increasing since April.
In the two months of July to August (until the 25th), a total of 106 deaths were recorded, of which 93 involved people over 60 years of age and the rest were under 60 years of age.
In terms of the percentage of fully vaccinated people who died, a total of 360 deaths in 2021, only 64 were fully vaccinated people. In July, out of a total of 44 deaths, 11 involved fully vaccinated people over the age of 60. In August, a total of 62 deaths were recorded (as of 25/8), of which 12 were fully vaccinated elderly.
It is necessary to intervene
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Mrs Anthousi points out, "one in five deaths recorded concerns people aged 80-84. At this time when there is generally fatigue among citizens, we have all relaxed and are not strictly applying the rules of personal protection. This, combined with the decline in the immunity of elderly people, as scientists see, requires us to make some interventions to protect our elderly."
