A wave of hospitality that rises more slowly than the previous ones, but inexorably. This is the feeling that prevails at the present time at the Bordeaux University Hospital, which records 97 hospitalized Covid-19 patients, including 39 in intensive care.
“Little by little, we are approaching the bar of 100 patients, and since November 20 this has continued to rise” we note within the management of CHU Pellegrin. “We are in the process of exceeding the level of the fourth wave, and we will find ourselves in the proportions that we had seen during the third wave, last spring. “Of these 97 hospitalized patients,” 32 are over 75 years old, and in fact we have a large majority of unvaccinated. “
20 minutes asked Dr Benjamin Clouzeau, intensive care physician at the CHU, who takes stock of the situation in his medical intensive care unit.
What is the proportion of unvaccinated people in intensive care now?
To start with, we don’t have any three dose patients, it’s important to point out. The proportion of patients received in shifts is 70 to 75% of non-vaccinated, and the others are vaccinated two doses, who were caught up by the disease there are fifteen days to three weeks, while they are were at the end of vaccination coverage. We do not have, either, patients who have intermediate forms of the disease, as we had during last summer, that is to say who stayed 72 hours in sheave with a little oxygen. We really only have serious cases.
Christmas in intensive care
6 crying girls …
Their 2 unvaccinated parents, who died on # COVID19, the same week in intensive care
A drama of disinformation … pic.twitter.com/HzBvBqGkzg
– benjamin Clouzeau (@clouzeau_b) December 29, 2021
Even people vaccinated with two doses, then?
Yes, but we should not conclude from this that the vaccine does not work, it does work, and protects against serious forms. On the other hand, there is a drop in the immune response with two doses, but fortunately there is a rebound with the third dose which makes it possible to face the current wave. I don’t know if it will be durable, but it wouldn’t be the first vaccine that we would need multiple injections for to get enough immunity.
On the profile of patients in intensive care, is there a change? Are they younger?
We have a handful of young people, but there is no fundamental change in profiles either, compared to what we have known so far. On the other hand, someone who has co-morbidities and is over 70 years old with three doses, has much less risk of developing a severe form than a younger patient, without co-morbidity but not vaccinated.
How do you see the month of January in your department?
Omicron is in circulation a lot, although there is certainly some over-screening currently due to the holiday season. We will receive these patients at the hospital in the days to come, because they are currently infected, especially during family reunions. These will include irreducible non-vaccinated, who will be caught by the omicron and who risk developing serious forms. And even if omicron does less severe forms – which we are not yet sure – we must be aware that there are very strong tensions in most services. The hospital being so weakened after these two trying years that it does not take much to blow up the system. But I also see the positive side: the virus circulating a lot at the present time, within a fairly well protected population, especially among people at risk, we can hope to increase collective immunity in this way quickly.