Several Norwegian hospitals are on yellow alert. The employees are sick and the patients are pouring in. The corona infection levels off after the holidays, but the peak of the flu – and with it the peak of the virus – has not yet been reached. – No, unfortunately it probably isn’t, responds Assistant Director of Health in the Directorate of Health, Espen Rostrup Nakstad, to questions from news. Record-high numbers – Experience from last year and the year before shows that the corona infection levels off after Christmas. At the same time, we are still in a cold season and the incidence of influenza tends to increase in January. At Christmas, there were more patients admitted due to influenza than due to corona, the assistant director of health states. He says it is not certain when the flu peak will be reached. Number of hospitalizations with influenza, by week, 27.06.20–18.12.22. The table is taken from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health’s report week 50. Graphic: FHI In December, a whopping 38 per cent of the population stated that someone in the household had a cold, or that they suspected corona infection in someone they lived with. It is the highest number ever. This is respectively 16 and 24 percentage points higher than in December 2021 and 2020, and a new record. It appears in the Norwegian corona monitor from Opinion. – We enter a new year coughing and wheezing, but it is unclear whether it is corona, influenza, other respiratory infections or communicable diseases that are the problem, says senior adviser Nora Clausen in Opinion. The graphic shows laboratory-confirmed influenza in recent years. Graphics: FHI – Preparing us for a major outbreak But even though there has been a lot of flu infection this season, it is not necessarily that much more than other years. – There is a lot of covid-19, RS virus and many other respiratory infections which also lead to the high numbers of hospital admissions, says Nakstad. The psychiatric department at Sykehuset i Vestfold must start accepting medical patients. Here they receive devices for oxygen supply. Photo: Philip Hofgaard / news Figures from the Hospital in Vestfold show that almost 22 per cent of the samples taken from patients are positive for influenza. Nearly 14 percent are positive for corona. New hospital admissions in Norway up to and including week 50, 2022. All patients with respiratory tract infections. Graphics: FHI They upgraded the preparedness to yellow on 30 December. Jørn Jacobsen, clinic manager at the medical clinic at the hospital in Vestfold. Photo: Philip Hofgaard / news – We do not believe that the peak in the influx of patients has been reached, and are preparing for a high influx in the first weeks into the new year, says clinic manager in the medical clinic at the hospital, Jørn Jacobsen. On Monday, it will also be known that Sykehuset Østfold and Helse Møre og Romsdal are raising the alert level to green. On Monday morning, Sykehuset Østfold had 50 more patients than there are ordinary beds for, writes VG. – The hospitals in Møre and Romsdal are full of patients with respiratory infections, in addition to the fact that several employees are ill, says Erik Solligård, specialist director, to news. They then join a long line of hospitals that have all done the same. Many sick employees Nakstad says that several measures have been introduced and that the preparedness level has been raised at several hospitals. In practice, this may mean that patients have to wait somewhat longer for treatment, or that they are moved more between different departments. The main problem in hospitals now is not the number of patients, but the number of sick employees. – That is the biggest problem now – both in the municipalities and in the hospitals. It will be a challenge if it lasts for several weeks, he says. At Stavanger University Hospital, the management is having an emergency meeting at 2pm today. There, too, it is yellow due to heavy traffic and several sick employees towards the weekend. Stavanger University Hospital is one of several hospitals in the country that have now raised their alertness due to sickness absence and high patient attendance. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit Stavanger University Hospital is one of several hospitals in the country that have now raised their alertness due to sickness absence and high patient attendance. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit – There are 95 patients in the hospital with either covid-19, influenza or the RS virus. It is roughly the same as on Friday, when the hospital went up to yellow alert, says press contact Lisa Aasbø. Sickness absence has decreased somewhat, but it varies greatly between departments, she adds. Fewer need intensive care In the run-up to Christmas, around 700 patients with coronavirus were admitted weekly. About half of these had corona as their main diagnosis. – Most people who are admitted for corona have other, underlying illnesses that make them extra vulnerable to the virus infection. The same applies to those who are admitted with influenza, says Nakstad. Illustrative video shows viruses in the bloodstream.MOTIONSTOCK/PIXABAY Between five and 10 per cent of those admitted need intensive care. – There are far fewer than earlier in the pandemic and indicate that the vaccines still protect against serious illness in most people, says Nakstad. The vaccines have not hit Nakstad believes there are several reasons why the flu infection has been so widespread recently. Part of the explanation is that we in society live quite normally. – So the explanation is probably partly also that there are fewer people who have been vaccinated against influenza this year. Espen Rostrup Nakstad believes that there are several things that have contributed to the high proportion of flu patients this year. Photo of flu vaccination from 2021. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB In addition, the vaccine has not been so effective against the variants we have had here in Norway. – The flu vaccines are made several months before the flu season. The vaccines have worked better in countries where they have had other variations of the virus. The vaccines have probably not hit quite optimally this year, says Nakstad.
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Virus peak not yet reached – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
