Some say, “There are a lot of hidden critically ill patients, so too optimistic”… “Stealth mutation, risk to children” study also
Additional purchase of 200,000 Pax Lovid
The novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) ‘Stealth Omicron’ mutation has become the dominant species in Korea. As the stealth Omicron, which has strong spreading power, becomes the dominant species, there are concerns that the rate of decline in the COVID-19 epidemic will be slower than initially expected.
The quarantine authorities announced on the 28th that among the confirmed cases that occurred during the past week (20th to 26th), 56.3% of the total, or more than half, were infected with stealth Omicron, a sub-mutation of the ‘Omicron mutation’. It is known that the propagation power of stealth Omicron is 30-50% stronger than that of the existing Omicron mutation. In the UK and France, where Omicron mutation peaked before us, new confirmed cases increased once more following stealth Omicron dominant species was confirmed this month.
On the same day, Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol said, “After 11 weeks, the prevalence of omicron mutations has passed the peak and is slowly turning to a decline.” The Central Quarantine Countermeasures Headquarters predicted that the number of daily corona19 confirmed cases in Korea will decrease to less than 300,000 on the 6th of next month, and the point where it will decrease below 200,000 on the 20th of next month. It is expected that the rate of decline in COVID-19 patients will be slower than overseas due to the stealth Omicron epidemic.
Studies have also found that the mutation may be more dangerous for children. According to a paper previously published in the international academic journal ‘The Lancet’ by researchers at the University of Hong Kong and others, the fatality rate for children under 11 who were hospitalized with stealth omicron was 0.35%. It is 7 times the fatality rate of hospitalized patients with influenza (0.05%). Jung Eun-kyung, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “In Korea, the fatality rate for children (of Stealth Omicron) is not so high.
On the other hand, the quarantine authorities predicted that the number of severe cases in Korea on that day would reach around 1300-1680. This is lower than the previously expected maximum of 2,000 people. Normally, the number of new confirmed cases peaks, and the number of severe cases peaks following 2-3 weeks. Son Young-rae, head of the social strategy division at the Central Accident Resolving Headquarters, explained, “According to the existing prediction model, the current number of critically ill patients should be around 1500, but (actually) it is less.” As of 00:00 on that day, there were 1,273 severe cases of COVID-19, the highest number ever.
It is also pointed out that the government’s forecast of the number of critically ill patients is optimistic. Professor Kim Woo-joo of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Korea University Guro Hospital said, “It is a serious situation, but there are many ‘hidden critical patients’, such as those who are not included in the count because the quarantine period has passed.”
Meanwhile, the government announced on the same day that it had signed a contract to purchase an additional 200,000 doses of Paxrovid, an oral treatment from Pfizer. As a result, the amount of edible medicine secured in Korea has increased to a total of 1204,000 people, including 127,000 prescriptions.
Reporter Lee Ji-woon [email protected]
