GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The Garden Route has recorded an increase of 3 288 Covid-19 cases in the seven days up to Tuesday 10 August and hospitals in the district remain under pressure.
As at 10 August, George Regional Hospital had 85 Covid patients of whom 20 were in critical care. "The Covid ward is over 100% full and the Critical Care Unit is filled to 83% of capacity," said district health spokesperson Nadia Ferreira.
Harry Comay Hospital, as step-down facility for George Hospital, also remains under pressure with 22 patients in the two wards.
Mediclinic George manager Kassie Karstens said the pressure is easing at this hospital. "There is a definite lowering in numbers and it seems as if there is light in the tunnel."
According to the Department of Health's weekly report, the district has 6 390 active cases -
- George 2 635,
- Mossel Bay 1 376,
- Knysna 670,
- Oudtshoorn 678,
- Bitou 189,
- Hessequa 688 and
- Kannaland 154.
George was the only town where the active cases decreased (slightly).
Ferreira said more than 100 000 vaccinations have been administered up till 10 August. The district has the highest number of people per 100 000 of the population that has received at least one vaccine dose (just over 27 000). Cape Town has second most with just over 26 000 per 100 000.
"Teams have been hard at work behind the scenes to plan and execute their weekly vaccination schedules in the Garden Route. These include vaccinations at fixed vaccination sites, mobile outreaches to far outlying areas, as well as farm workers and also homeless people.
"There are 37 public vaccination sites and 13 private sites. The district expects a larger allocation of vaccines for next week which will enable teams to accommodate more walk-in clients," said Ferreira.
Comparison of deaths in young people
Western Cape head of health, Dr Keith Cloete, in a digital conference last week quoted statistics of admissions per age group during the current wave. These indicate that the number of young people (20-39) who were hospitalised or died in the province in the third wave is not higher than in the previous waves, as some people thought.
He said not enough people have received their second dose of the vaccine to make a significant impact on numbers during the third wave, however, vaccinated people tended not to be as severely affected by the disease as the general population.
More than 60% of people over 60 years in the province have received at least one dose of Pfizer, which is more than 90% of those who registered.
From 1 September, the electronic vaccination data system (EVDS) will open up for the age category 18-34 years.
Statistics demonstrate the efficacy of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine among healthcare workers in the Western Cape.
'J&J leads to milder infections, fewer deaths'
Cloete said the positive impact of vaccination on healthcare workers is evident in the third wave. In July, 1 256 were infected compared with 1 917 in June last year (first wave peak) and 2 305 in December (second wave). They received the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine. Infections were also much milder.
Of all staff in the health department, 68,97% has been vaccinated and the aim is to take that up to 80% in the next four weeks.
The national results of the Sisonke programme study have revealed that the J&J vaccine gave between 65% and 66% protection against hospitalisation, and between 91% and 95% protection against death, according to Prof Glenda Gray, Medical Research Council CEO and co-lead investigator.
When breakthrough infections happen, they are very mild, she said. Severe illness and death have been less than 0,05% of cases.
Gray said the vaccine proved effective against the Beta and Delta variants, both prevalent in South Africa. The study group will continue analysing the Sisonke programme for up to two years to allow them to see how durable and effective this vaccine is over time.
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