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The number of corona infections is increasing. Nevertheless, many of the over 80-year-olds cannot be boosted a second time.
So far, the group of over 80-year-olds has been one of the most vaccinated in the corona pandemic. Over 94 percent of them have been vaccinated twice, and 83 percent have also received a third vaccination. But now this value has collapsed: only 23 percent of the over 80-year-olds had a second booster.
“Why should I do that? I’ve been vaccinated three times and I’m fine, »says Frida Brender (97), for example. The reasons may be different, maybe some are waiting for adapted vaccines. But since the outbreak of the pandemic, fewer than ever have refreshed their vaccination protection.
concern in the hospitals
The number of corona infections is increasing again. This is also shown by the increasing values of the virus load in the wastewater. Those responsible in the hospitals are therefore concerned. “We already have too few beds because we don’t have enough staff. At our hospital, we struggle every day to find free beds for the people who need one, »says Huldrych Günthard, an infectiologist at the University Hospital in Zurich.
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Most of the over 80-year-olds had enough corona and injections after the second vaccination or the booster.
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Even if the vaccination does not protect against infection, it often prevents a serious course of the disease, says Günthard. He cites studies that show that thanks to a second booster in the elderly, the risk of a severe course is three times smaller. The effect is also so high because the protection of the oldest in the population decreases most quickly after a vaccination.
Prevent serious illness
Whether at the University Hospital in Basel, at the Cantonal Hospital in Aarau or in Zurich: the infectiologists contacted all fear that it will be difficult for the hospitals in the winter half-year with such a low vaccination rate for over 80-year-olds because they have the highest risk of a severe course with a possible hospital stay .
“We are therefore in a very tense situation; all hospitals in Switzerland. If we now also have corona patients, then things can get tight again, »says Günthard from the University Hospital Zurich.
He emphasizes that now that there are practically no protective measures such as masks in Switzerland, the elders of the population have to refresh their vaccinations all the more consistently. Otherwise, some of them will unnecessarily burden the hospitals this winter.