Recently, the daily number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus epidemic has returned to more than 10,000. However, some elders still have fallacies regarding the development of the epidemic, believing that they are not a high-risk group, delay vaccination, and even fail to report to the relevant departments if they test positive.
Dr. Pang Chaohui, the convener of the Association for the Advancement of Patient Health Care, said that Omicon BA.5 has spread globally, accounting for regarding 80% of the cases in the world, while the number of cases related to BA.4/BA.5 in Hong Kong has increased by 36 times in the past month, accounting for 80% of the cases in the world. More than 50% of the cases, “As of the end of August, there have been more than 2,100 hospitalizations in Hong Kong over the age of 60 due to the epidemic, far exceeding other age groups; and many confirmed hospitalized deaths are community-active elderly, not those in residential homes.”
Five Fallacies of the Elderly
In order to understand the views of people over 60 years old in Hong Kong on the epidemic, the Association for the Advancement of Patient Healthcare and Rights conducted an online survey and successfully interviewed 664 people. Infectious and infectious disease specialist Zeng Qiyin summarized the errors of the respondents from the survey results.
Fallacy 1: The epidemic will not be serious in the future
The survey found that 47% of the elderly believe that the disease will be less severe in the future, and 31% believe that the contagiousness will be reduced. In fact, BA.5 is the most infectious new coronavirus strain at present. Foreign research indicates that its growth rate is 35% faster than that of BA.2. Laboratory studies also found that BA.5 has a higher replication rate in lung cells than BA.2. 34 times. Infection with the new coronavirus may cause inflammation of heart cells and even heart failure. Regardless of whether the new crown is severe or not, it may also cause a long new crown, and the risk of cardiovascular disease increases by 63%.
Fallacy 2: It is not serious following the middle is finished
Although 75% of people in the survey knew that the new coronavirus can be re-infected, 27% thought that the symptoms would be milder when they were reinfected. In fact, a study in the United States pointed out that the risk of death, hospitalization and sequelae of secondary infection is more than 2 times, nearly 3 times and more than 1.6 times higher than that of first-time infection, respectively.times.
Fallacy 3: Early-age is not high-risk
Only 10% of respondents believe that people aged 60 to 69 have a higher risk of severe illness and death following infection. However, according to the fifth wave of death data, this age group is 1.84%, which is more than ten times the 0.03% to 0.17% of the 20- to 49-year-old group, both belonging to the high-risk group.
Fallacy 4: Rapid test positives are not reported
The survey pointed out that 12% of the respondents or their family members had a quick test positive but did not report it, 10% did the quick test process sloppily, 8% evaded forced testing, and 5% reported old test results. This not only increases the risk of severe illness and death by preventing patients from receiving appropriate treatment and oral medicines for COVID-19, but also may spread the virus in the community because they do not know their diagnosis.
Myth #5: Delaying or even not vaccinating
36% of respondents who have received 3 doses or less of the new crown vaccine tend to delay or not vaccinate as much as possible, because of concerns regarding vaccine safety and side effects, and waiting for a new generation of vaccines. A study in the United States pointed out that the rate of serious adverse events in the third dose of the vaccine was similar to that of the second dose; the figure in Hong Kong was regarding 40 cases per 100,000 doses of the vaccine, which is very rare. In addition, there is still no timetable for the launch of the new generation of vaccines in Hong Kong. As the epidemic continues to heat up, Zeng Qiyin suggested that existing vaccines be vaccinated as soon as possible.
Quick test before the party
Pang Chaohui suggested that “the elderly should complete 3 doses of vaccine as soon as possible, and if they have been vaccinated with 3 doses of vaccine for 3 months, they should receive the fourth dose of vaccine.” “Ditch needle” can be considered when receiving booster doses to achieve sufficient neutralization Antibody levels once morest Omicron virus. “In addition, it is recommended to take a quick test before attending a party or a crowded place. If the result is positive, you should immediately report it and receive a doctor’s diagnosis.”
Originally published on AM730 https://www.am730.com.hk/Health/12-People are recruited without reporting-Increased risk of outbreaks/336852?utm_source=yahoorss&utm_medium=referral
