Infection control chief physician Lars Kåre Kleppe in Helse Stavanger fears that the wave of infections and diseases Norway is facing this autumn may be greater than what has previously been communicated.
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– The authorities want to reduce the trace of infection. This increases the risk of infection outside known transmission routes. This is done at the same time as many are still unvaccinated and poorly protected. That worries me, says infection control chief Lars Kåre Kleppe VG.
The doctor says that there will be more seriously ill than one imagined it would be before the summer, and that the wave will be larger than what has been communicated by central authorities. He refers to England, where the numbers of hospitalized people have increased.
– The UK has infection tracking and testing
– It has been opened up. But they have infection tracking and testing. They currently have 7,000 hospitalized patients. If we reach the same level as England, we will have 600 hospitalized covid patients at the same time. At most in the pandemic so far, we have had 325 covid patients admitted to hospital at the same time, says Kleppe.
– In our area, 90 percent of the inhabitants in the age group 45-54 years have received a vaccine dose. 70 percent have received two doses. This means that 5,000 in this group have not been vaccinated, while 10,000 have received one dose. In that age group, about 1000 people have had the disease. There are many who are exposed to infection and who have the same admission risk as six months ago, says Kleppe.
– Same risk
The chief infection control officer thinks it is unclear how serious this wave can be.
– The impression we have is that the authorities have great confidence that herd immunity will “buy us” out of the situation and lead to the infection stopping. Those who have not been vaccinated still have the same risk and they are many, says the infection control chief.
