Among the 690 Antioquians who occupy an Intensive Care Unit in Medellín, is Fabio Restrepo, an actor, whose son died of covid-19.
The Antioquian actor Fabio Restrepo completed a month in an intensive care unit (ICU). Remembered for his appearance in films such as Addition and subtraction and in series like Escobar, the patron of the malily Lady, the seller of roses, Fabio (62 years old) is hypertensive and diabetic and in December he fainted for which he had to be hospitalized.
At the clinic he contracted a bacterium and later pneumonia, due to covid-19, his son Mauricio Restrepo said, commenting that his father’s health is stable and that he has been improving in the last week. While Fabio continues to fight for his life at the Sagrado Corazón clinic in Medellín, his other son Andrés did not have the same fate.
Also an actor and producer, Andrés was hospitalized for covid-19 in an ICU since last December 29. His state of health was always complex and on Sunday night he passed away.
Trajectory
Andrés and his wife were expecting a baby. He is remembered for having starred in the film millionaire talent (2017) and on television he was in projects such as The queen of flow, Without breasts there is no paradise, Escobar, the boss of evil and The Selection 2, among others.
“Leave only joy and a great legacy of talent and expressiveness. I’ve known Andrés for ten years, we talked a lot, he was a brother to me, he was a wonderful being and a great actor and producer”, recalls his friend and colleague Felipe Giraldo, who recalls that Andrés, who studied drama in Spain, was a leader in his house, a reference for his father and brothers.
This year the film will be released Sara, shot in Medellín, in which Andrés Restrepo participates. Close friends of the late actor and producer confirmed that he had not been vaccinated once morest covid-19, a virus that ended his life.
statistics
His case is a reflection of what scientists have reiterated over and over once more: the chances of dying from covid-19 are much greater for those who have not received the punctures.
In Colombia, as explained by Julián Fernández, director of Epidemiology and Demography of the Ministry of Health, those who are not vaccinated have a four to nine times higher risk of dying from the virus.
In Antioquia, during 2022, 363 unvaccinated people have died, compared to 11 with one dose and 27 with a complete basic scheme, in addition to six with booster doses. And in December there were 202 without doses received, 25 with a single puncture, 114 deaths with a complete scheme and one with reinforcement.
The data on deaths per 100,000 inhabitants recently presented by the Ministry of Health also shows it.
In the weeks between December 5 of last year and January 1 of this year, the death rate in unvaccinated was 1.7; 1.6; 1.4; 1.2, and in the first week of this year, it reached 1.8. On the contrary, in the vaccinated it was 1.0; 0.9; 0.9; 0.7 and 1.2, respectively.
As seen in the data, there is an evident increase, corresponding to the increase in infections in recent weeks. Inevitably, the more cases registered, the more deaths from covid-19 will be reported.
Between January 16 and 22, last week, there were 202,613 officially registered infections throughout the country. The national average of deaths was 166 daily, and a total of 1,163, showing an increase of more than double compared to the previous week, when there were 572.
In Antioquia, the number of detected cases rose to 21,197 in that same week, compared to the previous one when they were 36,612. However, given the new testing guidelines established by the Ministry of Health on taking samples, it is evident that there is an underreporting of undiagnosed infections.
ICU occupation worries
And in the same way it has happened with the occupation of intensive care units, which have been filling up more and more.
In Medellín, occupancy reaches 96.23%, since of 717 available beds, there are 690 occupied. 29% of these correspond to patients with covid-19, while 65% are patients who have not started their inoculation scheme, according to Mayelis De La Rosa Madrid, coordinator of the Observatory of the Fundamental Right to Health of the Personería de the capital.
Likewise, the city has an occupancy of 93% in general hospitalization; 13% are due to positive patients for coronavirus and 55% have not received anticovid injections either.
At the departmental level, the picture is not much better. Of the total of 994 ICUs that Antioquia has, there are 907 occupied, which reflects an occupation of 91.25%.
The most critical municipalities are Ríonegro –recently declared on red alert–, with its 66 occupied; Beautiful with only one of its 39 units available; La Ceja, which has 17 occupied out of 19 ICUs, and Medellín, with 27 free beds.
At the national level, by contrast, the picture is different. The percentage of ICUs available is 37%, and Antioquia, Cauca and Meta compete for the highest occupancy
91,2%
occupation of intensive care units in Antioquia