The Evening Report - Dec 1
COVID numbers rise in Denmark. RS virus strains German pediatric resources.
🦠Pandemic🦠
🇩🇰
COVID numbers are rising again across Denmark. Last week, for the first time in almost two months, the number of confirmed coronavirus infections, an unreliable statistic, increased. Week to week, the COVID incidence rate per 100,000 people went from 64 To 77. Last week, the positivity percentage also rose to 13%, up from the previous weeks 11%.
In its latest weekly pandemic assessment, the Statens Serum Institute says infection activity increased across every age group, with the exception of 16 to 19 year olds where infection numbers fell. The agency says the increase in coronavirus cases is sharpest among very elderly seniors, those 80 years old and older.
Infections increased and hospitalizations were up slightly among high-risk seniors in care.
The SSI is also warning that the holiday season isn’t going to help and will rather likely contribute to even more infection spread due to Christmas-related social events.
Pandemic related hospitalizations also rose slightly last week. There were 299 infection-related admissions, 44 more than the week before. As has been the case all year, seniors 70 to 89 years old continue to make up the highest proportion of new admissions. There were just eight people admitted to intensive care last week.
Infection, Epidemiology, and Prevention Section Leader Bolette Søborg:
“This week we see a slight increase in infections, especially among the elderly, and the coming weeks will show whether the increase continues. However, it is important to maintain that overall there is a low incidence of infection”
COVID wastewater surveillance, a more reliable pandemic indicator, also shows increasing coronavirus activity both on a national level and across all five Danish regions. Nationally, virus activity has been increasing for three straight weeks now. Region Nordjylland, Region Midtjylland, and Region Syddanmark are all seeing “a sharp increase in the growth rate.”
On the vaccination front, 31.5% of the total population has a 2nd booster dose. Among vulnerable seniors in care booster dose uptake is 89%. Among the 50 years old and older target group, 74% have now had a 4th dose.
“There is a markedly lower share of hospital admissions in this group compared to persons who are unvaccinated or not yet booster-vaccinated.”
The one number that continued to drop was COVID fatalities, with 30 more lives lost to the pandemic last week, ten fewer than the week prior.
The BA.5 variant, or rather a collection of it and a number of its sub-variants, remain dominant in Denmark (42.64%) but the BQ.1.1 variant (33.12%) is gaining ground fast. If its growth rate continues, it will eclipse BA.5 within a couple of weeks. The BA.2.75 variant, which spun its wheels for a long time, is also continuing to increase (14.16%) in numbers, but at a much slower rate.
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Daily infections remain above 1,000 in Thursday’s weekday update from the Statens Serum Institute; there were 1,206 new infections to be precise (underreported) while another 5 lives have been lost to coronavirus.
The daily positivity percentage is 15.43%, which is a noticeable increase.
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COVID hospitalizations (325) inched down (-3) day to day while the number of severely infected people in an ICU (9) crept upward (+2) of those, the number on a ventilator (3) is unchanged.
Infection-related admissions to a psychiatric facility (59) dipped (-2).
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Mixing and matching COVID vaccines works just as well as getting vaccinated with the same vaccine type. That is the conclusion from a huge Nordic study published as a pre-print on MedRxiv. It has not yet been peer-reviewed.
You can find the study in full HERE.
Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland have been collaborating on a number of major COVID studies taking advantage of the in depth nationwide monitoring in all four Scandinavian nations.
Mixing COVID vaccines became more common when AstraZeneca use was suspended in the Nordics early in the vaccination campaign due to concerns over potentially fatal side effects. Those who had one AstraZeneca dose, at the time, usually healthcare workers, were switched to either the Pfizer/BioNTech or the Moderna mRNA vaccines to complete their vaccination. At the time, there was very little clinical testing on efficacy from mixing vaccine doses.
Statens Serum Institute Professor Anders Hviid led the big Nordic study.
“There is no doubt that the vaccines have generally had a dramatic effect, especially with regard to [protecting against]severe infections and especially against the variants that we saw early in the pandemic. On the other hand, we know less about which COVID vaccines and vaccine courses have worked better or worse than others, especially against the Omicron variant. We have now tried to make up for this with a large common Nordic mapping of the effectiveness of various vaccine courses during the omicron wave.”
The study determined there were no significant advantages or disadvantages from mixing COVID vaccines or sticking with one vaccine type.
After submitting this study, health researchers in the four Nordic nations already launching another collaborative pandemic study.
“We have just started a comprehensive mapping of COVID vaccination safety among children and young people, which is also supported by the European Medicines Agency. We expect to complete this work early next year. The Nordic registers are a completely unique resource for these studies, even on a worldwide scale. In some of our studies, we start from more than 23 million inhabitants. It has given us really good opportunities to get to the bottom of many important questions regarding the effectiveness and safety of COVID vaccines.”
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The RS virus wave continues to show signs that it may have peaked and could now be ebbing. The SSI says over the past week there had been a slight decrease in the incidence rate, positivity percentage, and hospitalizations. That said, case numbers continue to be higher than all previous pre-pandemic annual bouts with the virus. There also continued to be what the institute called a “high level of hospitalizations” among infected infants six months old and younger.
🇸🇪
Sweden has added 5,405 infections (wildly underreported) in the last week while adding another 93 corona deaths pushing its to-date pandemic death toll to 21,127. That is almost three times the number of COVID deaths in Denmark and slightly more than the combined coronavirus deaths in Finland, Norway, and Denmark.
COVID hospitalizations (901) jumped (+147) while ICU numbers (13) crept down (-1).
So far, 66.6% of those 18 years old and older have one booster dose. 80.6% of those 65 years old and older have two.
🇫🇮
Finland registered 11,001 new infections over the last seven days while adding another 183 pandemic deaths.
COVID hospitalizations (930) pushed upward slightly (+7).
To date, 79.6% of the total population has one vaccine dose, 76.6% have two, 54.3% have one booster shot, and 20.1% have a second.
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RS virus and influenza epidemics are beginning in Finland. The Finnish Institute for Health says RS virus cases are exploding across the country at a rate three times seen in any previous November. The institute says 66% of the infections have been among children four years old and younger. The age group most at risk.
Leading Expert Niina Ikonen:
“The RS virus cannot be easily distinguished from other respiratory infections caused by viruses. The cause of the disease can only be determined with a laboratory test. If the infection is accompanied by serious symptoms, such as shortness of breath or other severe physical impacts, it is necessary to contact the healthcare system.”
In the last two months, the health agency says, RS virus infections have been confirmed in almost every hospital district.
Finnish health authorities are currently assessing if the monoclonal antibody nirsevimab can be used as an effective and safe preventative measure among infants and newborns.
The institute says influenza cases are also rising, but not with the ferocity of the RS virus. So far, strains of the seasonal flu have been confirmed in just a few hospital districts. But, since mid-November, the agency says influenza numbers have been steadily increasing.
🇳🇴
COVID numbers are rising in Norway, as are RS virus infections, while the Norwegian Institute of Public Health is also now warning that influenza cases are increasing rapidly, as are influenza-related hospital admissions.
The NIPH says the influenza epidemic has arrived earlier than expected and it expects the annual flu season “to be in full swing” by late December. With that in mind, the agency says getting a flu shot “is now urgent.” It says influenza vaccinations among vulnerable seniors and others at risk are far too low.
Christmas in Norway could be a tough one, especially for healthcare workers, as the national health agency warns that it is now very possible that RS virus, influenza, and coronavirus infections will be “significantly greater” at Christmas.
“The overall burden on health services can be great. Hospitals and municipalities must be prepared for more illness, greater sickness absence, more admissions, and more outbreaks in nursing homes and hospitals.”
According to the NIPH’s latest weekly assessment, COVID hospitalizations increased slightly last week, with 244 new admissions, up from 205 the week before. Influenza-related hospitalizations also rose from 49 to 67 week to week. Intensive care numbers for both coronavirus and seasonal flu both increased slightly last week.
Visits to a doctors office or emergency room due to either a coronavirus or influenza infection also increased slightly.
COVID deaths in Norway remained stable, with 46 more lives lost to the virus last week.
For a seventh straight week, COVID wastewater surveillance is seeing increasing coronavirus activity. Norway’s wastewater monitoring program is a little limited, though covering about 30% of the population.
Norway’s COVID booster dose campaign has inoculated 71% of seniors 75 years old and older and 62% of people 65 to 74 years old.
Influenza vaccination uptake is lacking. 57% of seniors over the age of 65 have been vaccinated. Among those in high-risk groups who are 18 to 64 years old, just 28.5% had a flu shot. Among children 17 years old and younger, a mere 5.5% have gotten an influenza vaccine. Among healthcare staff flu shot uptake is just 31%.
On the variant front, the NIPH says BA.5 sub-variants and the BQ.1.1 variant are dominant at the moment. But it also notes the recombinant XBB variant is also gaining ground.
🇩🇪
Germany recorded 36,115 new infections and suffered another 152 virus deaths in its Thursday update.
It added 1,717 more hospitalizations while ICU numbers (898) inched upward (+2). As a percentage of all intensive care beds in the country, pandemic patients are using 4.3%.
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A massive RS virus wave in Germany is pushing pediatric care to its limits. As of Thursday, just 83 intensive care beds for children remained across the country. Some children’s clinics are turning sick kids away because they have maxed out capacity, something German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach called “worrying.” He says “Children's hospitals urgently need help.” Lauterbach is asking for nursing staff from other healthcare sectors to help shore up staffing at pediatric clinics. The government is also temporarily suspending minimum staffing rules to try and free up bodies.
“We are not yet at the end of this wave. We will make it possible for the hospitals to relocate staff to the children's wards.”
🇨🇦
The Public Health Agency of Canada updates infection numbers, pandemic deaths, and a few other COVID statistics every Tuesday.
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COVID hospitalizations have increased across Canada. According to PHAC’s weekly hospital pandemic admissions update that comes every Thursday. It says in the week ending November 28, the total number of hospital beds used by a coronavirus patient went from 5,457 down to 5,675. The bulk of those increases were in coronavirus-related general admissions, which rose by 106 to 5,296 beds in use. Intensive care numbers haven’t changed week to week and remain at 267. While, the number of severely infected people on a ventilator crept upward by one to 112.
⚡️Energy Crisis⚡️
As temperatures drop Bloomberg is reporting that energy prices in the Nordic region are skyrocketing.
Energy and Commodities Columnist Javier Blas:
“On a weekly average, Nordpool day-head is just under €350 per MWh, its second highest weekly ever.”
🇩🇰
Public and government buildings in most of Denmark have capped thermostats at 19 degrees to reduce energy use and limit the strain on gas reserves. But, on the island of Bornholm buildings will be a toasty 21 degrees.
Regional Municipality Mayor Jacob Trøst spoke to DR to defend the decision.
“We have weighed the advantages of lowering the temperature against the disadvantages, and we have come to the conclusion that the amount we could save by turning down the heat is limited.”
The reason why is because of Bornholm’s complicated heating set-up. All radiators in municipal buildings are locked at 21 degrees. The only way to change the temperature is to manually remove a valve on each individual radiator to turn down the heat. That would cost 400,000 kroner (about $76,000 Cdn) according to municipal officials.
Energy employee Flemming Bech:
“It's not something you just do. In order for us to have even heat in all buildings, the radiators are locked at a certain temperature, and our ventilation systems are also linked to the fact that it is 21 degrees.”
Bech says the cumbersome system actually saves energy by ensuring all radiators in municipal buildings remain at 21. He also argues that Bornholm is doing its fair share as it has reduced heat consumption by 40% and electricity use by 65% since 2012.
🇺🇦/ 🇷🇺 War
🇪🇪 🇺🇦
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas confirmed on Thursday that the country’s parliament has approved another military assistance package to Ukraine. Kallas didn’t reveal what was in the package. But, she did say that Estonia, Norway, and the Netherlands are working together to donate a mobile field hospital to Ukraine.
“Ukraine will win. We must scale up our support to help them.”
🇨🇭/ 🇷🇺
$8 billion dollars worth of Russia assets has now been frozen in Switzerland alone as of December 1st, according to the Swiss government’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.
🇨🇿 🇺🇦
More European countries are opening up opportunities for military training for Ukrainian soldiers. The Czech Republic will offer to train up to 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers per intake. The Czech parliament approved the proposal on Thursday. This follows similar international led efforts in the United Kingdom.