Date Published: 13/01/2022
ARCHIVED - Half of ICUs in Spain in very high-risk Covid category
The occupancy rate exceeds 25% in 26 provinces in Spain
The explosion of infections that began before the Christmas holidays and has continued well into the New Year has begun heaping pressure on Spain’s hospitals, and although the Ministry of Health believes the situation is improving steadily, the fact remains that there are now more patients admitted than at the height of the previous two waves.
Five communities – the Canary Islands, Navarra, the Basque Country, Aragon and Cantabria – now have the worst figures since the vaccination campaign began, while in 26 provinces, more than 25% of critical care beds are occupied by Covid patients. This puts these ICUs in the very high-risk category.
However, the real picture emerges when the data is compared with a year ago. In January 2021, more than 27,000 patients had been admitted to hospital while around 5,000 were being treated in intensive care for more serious symptoms. Today, despite the fact that the number of infections has tripled, there are only 14,000 people hospitalised. Even more crucially, the occupancy rate of the ICU is less than 50%.
Experts attribute the drastic difference in these figures to the success of the vaccination campaign in Spain, where the vast majority of people are now double jabbed and 90% of those over the age of 70 have already received their booster. Vaccinations are continuing at such an impressive clip that the Ministry of Health is even considering offering the third inoculation to everyone over 18 in the coming weeks.
Although there is no official data available for Spain, many doctors have confirmed that more and more hospitalised patients are infected with the Omicron variant rather than Delta, although it is certainly presenting less severe symptoms and resulting in shorter hospital stays. The ICU is a different story, where the sickest patients are still presenting with the Delta variant.
In intensive care, where the majority of people are not vaccinated, "those who are admitted are still very serious, and the admission is prolonged", Gonzalo Tamayo, from the Hospital de Cruces (Barakaldo), pointed out.
In the hospitals of Catalonia, of the 1,405 people over 80 years of age who have been admitted since December 1, there are 910 unvaccinated per 100,000 and 240 vaccinated per 100,000, almost four times less.
Image: Archive
Loading
Read more about Coronavirus:
OR
Sign up for the Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin to get a comprehensive email with all the week’s news for Spain, Murcia, Alicante and Andalucía.
Get a sneak peek – here are a few of our recent Subscription Bulletins:
50% Discount Special Offer subscription:
24.95€ for 48 Editor’s Weekly News Roundup bulletins!
Please CLICK THE BUTTON to subscribe.
Contact Spanish News Today: Editorial 966 260 896 /
Office 968 018 268