Danish hospitals see big rise in number of Covid patients
While intensive care rates remain steady, there's a "continued increase" of Covid infection and hospitalisation among nursing home residents and the elderly in Denmark, according to infectious disease agency the State Serum Institute.
New admissions of patients with Covid-19 rose 29 percent in Danish hospitals between the last week of June (589 new admissions) and the first week of July (761 new admissions), the SSI said.
The bulk of the patients currently hospitalised with Covid are ages 60-89, the SSI's weekly report says.
While the SSI judges that there are "overall signs of a stabilisation" in general infection rates, monitoring of wastewater indicates the concentration of Covid is actually on the rise. (Denmark greatly reduced its public testing and surveillance programs, which had been considered among the most extensive in the world, this spring.)
Fourth shots for nursing home residents?
Ældre Sagen, a non-profit association that advocates for the needs of the elderly (and sister organisation to the AARP in the United States), has called on the National Board of Health to offer additional boosters to nursing home residents.
"If infection rates continue to rise, we risk potentially being to late," Ældre Sagen's Michael Teit Nielsen told Danish broadcaster DR.
READ MORE: Danish health minister says further Covid-19 vaccinations could ward off restriction
What about BA.2.75?
Public health officials at SSI say that BA.2.75, an omicron sub-variant that has spread rapidly through India, is not yet a source of major concern in Denmark. Only five cases have been identified to date, with "a proportion" of those cases attributed to a single transmission chain from a Dane who had been infected while in Greece.
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New admissions of patients with Covid-19 rose 29 percent in Danish hospitals between the last week of June (589 new admissions) and the first week of July (761 new admissions), the SSI said.
The bulk of the patients currently hospitalised with Covid are ages 60-89, the SSI's weekly report says.
While the SSI judges that there are "overall signs of a stabilisation" in general infection rates, monitoring of wastewater indicates the concentration of Covid is actually on the rise. (Denmark greatly reduced its public testing and surveillance programs, which had been considered among the most extensive in the world, this spring.)
Fourth shots for nursing home residents?
Ældre Sagen, a non-profit association that advocates for the needs of the elderly (and sister organisation to the AARP in the United States), has called on the National Board of Health to offer additional boosters to nursing home residents.
"If infection rates continue to rise, we risk potentially being to late," Ældre Sagen's Michael Teit Nielsen told Danish broadcaster DR.
READ MORE: Danish health minister says further Covid-19 vaccinations could ward off restriction
What about BA.2.75?
Public health officials at SSI say that BA.2.75, an omicron sub-variant that has spread rapidly through India, is not yet a source of major concern in Denmark. Only five cases have been identified to date, with "a proportion" of those cases attributed to a single transmission chain from a Dane who had been infected while in Greece.
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