In the last 24 hours, 1335 new corona infections have been registered in Norway, which is both 442 more than the same day last week and the highest number of new infections in one day since 8 September when the number was 1379.
In Tromsø it was again today set infection record. In Trondheim, the infection pressure is so great that it is no longer possible for the infection control office to call all those infected.
For many, it is surprising that the numbers now again point in the wrong direction.
Over 130 inpatients: – Absolutely extraordinary
Ørjan Olsvik, professor of medical microbiology at the University of Tromsø, finds it difficult to predict how the pandemic will affect our country in the coming months and until Christmas.
– There is so much we do not know about this virus. For example, we did not know that vaccines would not work forever. Now we do not know how much infection there actually is in society, and we do not know how the virus will move on, Olsvik sees.
– We also have no idea how many waves there will be, he says and adds:
– We simply do not know what will happen, but we must do what we can to prevent people from becoming seriously ill and / or dying.
PROFESSOR: Professor of medical microbiology Ørjan Olsvik. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB scanpix
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Concerned about the effect
The fact that he thinks he sees that the vaccines seem to be losing their effect is something that surprises the professor the most.
– It surprises me, and we do not know exactly what is the cause of it – but it is the first time we use the mRNA vaccines, so there is less knowledge about it than other vaccines, he says.
Municipal chief physician Tove Røsstad in Trondheim shares Olsvik’s concerns related to the effect of the vaccines.
– We are excited about how long a good vaccine effect lasts. We already seem to observe that those who were vaccinated early in the municipality have less effect than those who were vaccinated recently. There is little infection among the student group now, which is the last group to be vaccinated. At the same time, we see an overrepresentation among health workers, who were the first to receive the vaccine, she tells Dagbladet.
– What we have observed is fortunately that the vaccines still seem to protect against serious illness and death in those who have been vaccinated and become infected and ill, she adds.
MUNICIPAL SUPERVISOR: Municipal chief physician Tove Røsstad in Trondheim. Photo: Ole Martin Wold / NTB
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Analyze
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health is continuously working on analyzes of both the vaccines’ effect on the various virus variants and the risk of hospitalization with the new virus variants.
On their website writes National Institute of Public Health that they know that not all vaccinated people achieve full protection.
“This means that as a larger proportion of the adult population is vaccinated, naturally a larger proportion of those who become infected, become ill and need hospitalization or die will also be in the group of vaccinated.”, writes FHI, and follows up with:
“Some of those who are at risk for severe coronary heart disease and who are now fully vaccinated will still be able to get sick if they become infected. This applies to the elderly and some others in the risk groups. However, these will have a lower risk of serious illness than those who have not been vaccinated. In general, they get little serious illness if they become infected. They will also receive protection against infection by a high vaccination coverage in the population, as there will then be smaller amounts of virus in circulation ».
– Sharp increase in infection
– New wave
Røsstad in Trondheim says that the municipality with some concern is now following the development.
On Tuesday morning, 172 people had been registered infected in the last 24 hours, and it is expected that the number will increase significantly during the day, according to the municipality.
– We are probably in a new wave now. We see some very clear contagion peaks, says Røsstad to Dagbladet.
– The numbers are high, but it is still not too problematic, she adds.
The municipality now recommends the use of face masks in public places where it is not possible to keep at least one meter distance.
– Would you like there to be more guidelines nationally?
– For a year and a half we have been improvising continuously, and we are starting to get good at it, she answers.
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– Get assistance
She further emphasizes that the municipality experiences that they receive good assistance from the National Institute of Public Health, and says that when they request meetings with the national health authorities, they receive them on the day.
– We do not feel left to ourselves. We need – and get assistance quickly when we need it. At the same time, we depend on clear national guidelines on what is acceptable of advice and recommendations to the citizens. It will make the work easier for us, she says.
– Do you feel that the responsibility is too great for you at the local level?
– It is not something we have thought of so far, but I remember well when this broke loose, before the national authorities managed to sum up – then all the responsibility fell on us locally, and it was an extremely demanding situation.
– Do you have control now, then?
– The infection circulation is unknown, so I can not claim that we have control as we define control. At the same time, we are not in a situation where it is critical with regard to life, health and business, which we believe is important, the municipal supervisor answers.
Fear measures all winter
New phases
– What do you think about the time to come? How will the next months be?
– I’m excited about the time ahead. There are many other viruses that are also circulating now. It can be a demanding situation if there is more illness than usual, especially if the immunity is not as good as before.
She continues:
– I am excited about absence and morbidity, and I am excited about how the corona develops. There are new phases all the time. We are in a situation where large parts of the population have been vaccinated, but how well protected we actually are will only be answered in due course.
– How do you work now to get control of the situation?
– The most important thing now is that people test themselves. They can do this both via saliva tests themselves, and via so-called stick tests performed by health personnel.
And so far the testing suggests that the infection – it is definitely present.
– When we started with extensive testing in the schools, we saw that there was a lot of infection that appeared, significantly more than expected, says Røsstad.
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