THL officials reminded that counting deaths is hardly simple, as almost 90 percent of the reported deaths related to the coronavirus have several causes of death.
Markku PeltonenTHL’s research professor estimates that the coronavirus caused around 2,000–4,000 extra deaths in 2020–2021. He reminded that the number of deaths has been rising even before the pandemic for reasons related to the size and age structure of the population.
The incidence of coronavirus infections is on the rise in several medical circles due to the emergence of BA.5, the latest highly infectious sub-variant of the omicron variant. Although the number of patients in specialized medical care has also increased marginally after a longer-term decline, no such increase has been observed in intensive care units.
According to Salminen, this suggests that the patients no longer have such severe symptoms as before.
He said that because permanent protection against the virus has proven impossible, infections will continue to “come and go in waves” around the world as new variants emerge that can evade natural and vaccine-induced immunity. The new coronavirus has thus moved from pandemic to endemic, which means that it is constantly emerging all over the world and causing repeated seasonal epidemics.
“We’re not really talking about preparation anymore, we’re talking about adaptation,” he noted.
Salminen predicted that the virus will continue to increase the health care system compared to the situation before the pandemic. Therefore, it is important that the central government recognizes that additional resources are needed in winter to treat a larger number of patients.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page