Corona country comparison – Omikron exception Switzerland: cases are increasing, hospital admissions are decreasing – News

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Where the virus variant Omikron dominates, the number of cases increases rapidly. In Switzerland, too, the 7-day average of the number of cases is growing by 67 percent per week, based on the already very high level of the delta wave. It is now at 21,189 cases.

The crucial question, however, is what this means for the burden on the health system. In Switzerland, for example, the number of hospital admissions has been falling for more than three weeks – although the number of cases only fell for a short time in December and has risen sharply since then.

The graphic below shows that, thanks to the vaccination, there were significantly fewer hospital admissions in the delta wave in relation to the number of cases than in previous waves. Since the appearance of Omikron, this trend has increased significantly again.

How to read the indexed graphics


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In order to be able to compare the development of hospital admissions in relation to the number of cases of the individual corona waves in a graph, we have indexed them. This means: the previous maximum value of the reported corona cases and the maximum value of hospital admissions are both 1.0 on the scale.

For example, we can see from the Swiss graph above that there are currently 0.35 times as many hospital admissions as at the peak in November 2020, but the number of cases back then was only 0.44 times as high as it is today.

A look at other countries in which Omikron became dominant early on shows that in relation to the number of cases there are significantly fewer hospital admissions everywhere than in previous waves. However, when the number of cases is very high, hospital admissions rise again to the same level as in previous waves, for example in the USA and Denmark. Striking: Nowhere does the gap between the number of cases and hospital admissions widen as sharply as it is in Switzerland. This is shown in the following graphics.

Denmark

Situation: Hospital admissions are currently increasing sharply and are now even slightly higher in Denmark than last winter. This, however, with more than five times the number of cases than at that time.

Intensive care units: There are currently 77 people with Covid-19 in intensive care. The high last winter was 138.

Vaccines and boosters: 79 percent of the population are double vaccinated, 3 percent are single. Around 86 percent of Pfizer / Biontech has been inoculated here, around 12 percent Moderna. 51 booster doses were given per 100 people.

France

situation: Hospital admissions are rising sharply and are now just about the level of the third wave from spring 2021, but significantly lower than in the second wave.

Intensive care units: There are currently 3,665 people with Covid-19 in intensive care units. The number has been rising steadily since the beginning of November. The high point so far was reached here in spring 2021 with around 6,000 people.

Vaccines and boosters: 75 percent of the population are double vaccinated, just under 5 percent single. Pfizer / Biontech was administered to almost 79 percent, Moderna to 14 percent, and Astrazeneca to 6 percent. Just under 36 booster vaccinations were given to 100 people.

Why are hospital admissions in Switzerland so far low?


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It is also unclear to experts why the development of hospital admissions in Switzerland is currently very different from other countries affected by Omikron. The only thing that is clear is that this is likely to change.

For example, Denmark, where hospital admissions are now rising steeply, was affected by Omikron earlier than Switzerland. Accordingly, the FOPH expects the burden on Swiss hospitals to rise sharply in the next few weeks.

Many factors influence hospital admissions

In principle, however, there are many factors that can influence the hospitalization rate. Factors are, for example, the age distribution of the population, the percentage of people recovering, the vaccination quota, the vaccines used or the number of booster vaccinations administered.

“The fact that mRNA vaccines are used almost exclusively in Switzerland is certainly an advantage over Great Britain, for example. They are more effective than conventional and vector vaccines, ”says SRF science editor Christian von Burg.

Even if UK data show that Omikron only causes around a third of hospital admissions compared to Delta, but – as a look at the other countries shows – it is definitely too early to give the all-clear. The decisive factor will be how dangerous the variant is for the unvaccinated, and there is still great uncertainty.

So it is very likely that Omikron will be another stress test for the healthcare system in Switzerland in the next few weeks.

Great Britain

situation: Here, too, the number of cases due to Omikron is now more than three times higher than last winter. With a certain delay, hospital admissions also pick up significantly, but are still less than a third as high as last winter.

Intensive care units: 900 people currently need intensive care in Great Britain because of Covid-19, at the height of last winter it was almost 4,000. The number has remained reasonably stable in recent weeks.

Vaccinations and boosters: 70 percent of the population have been vaccinated twice, 6 percent once, out of 100 people 51 have received a booster vaccination. No data are available on the vaccines used, but the majority of the vaccinated doses are likely to be Astrazeneca.

USA

Situation: Hospital admissions in the USA are currently even higher than in the second wave, the number of cases is around 2.5 times higher than then. Hospital admissions have risen practically in step with the number of cases.

Intensive care units: The number of people who need intensive care because of Covid-19 is increasing sharply: there are currently 21,206 people. At the height of last winter there were over 28,700 people.

Vaccinations and boosters: In the United States, 62 percent of the population are double-vaccinated and 12 percent have received one dose of vaccine. 22 booster doses were vaccinated per 100 people. Pfizer / Biontech was administered 58 percent, and Moderna 38 percent.

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