Expecting an explosive increase in infection: – Will provide a new, great challenge
Never before in the pandemic have so many cases of infection been registered in Norway as this week. For a full four days in a row, new infection records were set.
Chief physician Preben Aavitsland at the National Institute of Public Health does not think we have reached the top.
– We are particularly interested in posts. Unfortunately, it most indicates that amounts will continue to increase in the weeks leading up to Christmas, says Aavitsland to TV 2.
On Sunday, 331 corona patients were admitted to Norwegian hospitals. It is a new record.
In Denmark, new omikron numbers have caused the alarm bells to ring. Authorities are reporting an explosive expansion in the number of omicron cases in the country, writes Danish TV 2.
The same will happen in Norway, says Aavitsland.
– Today it is an explosive spread of omikron. The same thing that is happening in Denmark will happen in Norway in the coming weeks. It will create a new, great challenge for the health service and society in general, he says to TV 2 and continues:
– Many more will be infected. When very many become infected, there are also very many more who need hospitalization.
Holds back report
While other countries have released their scenarios on what to expect with the omikron variant in the coming months, FHI is holding back its report.
The reason is that they think the uncertainty is too great for it to be published, he wrote NRK Friday.
Aavitsland says that they continue to work on the report. He says they do not want to make models in the report that are not entirely unlikely.
However, the superior says that they have a «significant concern» about the corona situation in Norway.
In an updated risk assessment on Tuesday, FHI said that the omicron variant could create a «significant disease burden» in December and January.
Many infected and sick before Christmas Eve
The risk assessment states that the omicron variant will become dominant by January 2022.
Aavitsland believes it will become dominant in “no weeks”, both in Norway, Europe and the rest of the world.
– It provides an extra, big challenges. It spreads much more and will be able to infect many more, and it cares less if you have been vaccinated, says Aavitsland.
– How will the spread of infection be compared with the delta variant?
– We expect omikron to spread more and faster than delta to spread. More will be infected. But several of us are vaccinated and protected from serious diseases, even though we are not well protected from being infected.
– What will this look like when we get to Christmas Eve?
– It is difficult to say, but I am afraid there will be quite a few who are infected and sick, and that the number of hospitalized will be a lot higher than today, says Aavitsland.
– Helps little
According to doctors in South Africa, where the omicron infection has spread rapidly in recent weeks, the variant causes milder diseases, fewer admissions and deaths.
According to Pfizer and Biontech, their vaccine provides good protection against the omicron variant if given a third dose. Three doses will provide as good protection against omicron as two doses provide against the delta variant, the companies announced on Wednesday.
Researchers believe that there is little risk that the vaccines we have today will be useless. For the time being, it seems that vaccinated people are becoming less seriously ill.
Just think that it is important to test how fast companies can turn around and produce a reformulated subject line with a proven effect.
– Maybe the variant is a little milder against both those who are vaccinated and not. However, it helps a little when so many more become infected, says Aavitsland in FHI and points to the capacity in the health care system.