FEWER IN HOSPITAL DUE TO INCREASED VACCINATIONS
Health D-G says number of daily admissions dropped when 50pc of people got at least first dose of vaccine
THE Covid-19 hospitalisation rates and the number of patients on ventilators have fallen in the Klang Valley following a boost in vaccination, said the Health Ministry.
Although the increase in vaccination may not see a decline in the number of cases, a reduction in the number of severe cases is starting to show.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the number of daily hospital admissions in the Klang Valley had started to show a drop after the percentage of the total population who received one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine reached above 50 per cent.
The number of patients in intensive care units (ICUs), he said, had yet to drop as patients who were severely ill spent an average of two to three weeks in ICUs before they either succumb to or recover from the disease.
However, he said the number of patients on ventilators started to decline in the Klang Valley.
The government had earlier said 73.8 per cent of the adult population in the area had completed their vaccination.
On the cumulative deaths reported on Friday, Dr Noor Hisham said 173 of the 233 patients were in categories four and five, and the remaining 60 were brought-in-dead cases.
“Patients who die in hospitals go through categories four and five before succumbing to the disease,” he told the New Sunday Times.
Category one patients are asymptomatic, while those in category two display mild symptoms. Category three patients suffer from pneumonia and lung infection (which require treatment and observation at hospitals). Category four are patients with lung infections and require oxygen supply (and spend on average of 14 days in the ICU). Those in category five are critical patients who need ventilator support and spend an average of 21 days in the ICU.
Dr Noor Hisham said the number and percentage of cases in categories one to five reported daily referred to the segment stated upon registration of the case.
He said the cases might not stay in the same category throughout the course of the illness and could deteriorate or improve along the way.
“But we have mechanisms in place to monitor these cases. In the Klang Valley, symptomatic cases and those with comorbidities are assessed in our Covid-19 Assessment Centres (CACs).
“Categories one and two cases are monitored at home through our virtual CAC.
“If there is any deterioration in their condition, they are advised to seek treatment at the CAC or hospital.”
On the recent spike in cases with Malaysia logging over 20,000 cases daily, Dr Noor Hisham said the virus was already in the community.
He said that while vaccination could reduce the rate of transmission, it did not completely eliminate transmission, especially if other public health measures, such as isolation and quarantine, were not adhered to.
But vaccination, he said worked well to protect people from severe symptoms that lead to hospitalisation and death.
“With the easing of restrictions, he hoped that Malaysians would continue to practise preventive measures, such as wear face masks, practise good hand hygiene and avoid closed, crowded and confined spaces.
“If you are a positive case or close contact, undergo isolation or quarantine immediately so that you do not expose others to the risk of infection.
“There is a proportion of our population who are not yet vaccinated and thus, are susceptible to infection.”