Almeria, February 16th. (European Press) –
The incidence rate of acute respiratory infections in Andalusia is 367.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, an increase of 7.3 cases from the previous week, although the situation has changed, Valle García, general manager of the Andalusian Health Service (SAS), said on Friday. The “stable” number of cases is estimated to be below the national average of 564.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
The Commission detailed in a note that Andalusian hospitals are on average in the first phase of the high-frequency programme, which means that globally the percentage of emergency visits to the hospital has increased by less than 10% on three consecutive days.
Specifically, 67% of hospital centers are at level 0 of the plan, meaning that 34 of 51 hospitals have experienced a three-day increase in emergency room visits of less than 10%; 9.8% (five hospitals) are in phase 1, and 19.6% (ten) centers) are in phase 2 and two hospitals are in phase 3 (3.9%).
Garcia said at a press conference attended by local health and consumer affairs representative Juan de la Cruz Belmonte that by province, four provinces are in the first phase: Almeria, Granada, Verde Silva and Málaga, while the other four provinces are in phase 0. , and María José Ferrer, Deputy Director of Hospital Administration at SAS.
The general manager reiterated her message of “calm” to the population “as health centers and their professional staff are ready to meet any increase in demand, whether or not due to high attendance rates related to respiratory viruses.”
Likewise, he insisted that “all patients are treated in the shortest possible time, health care is safeguarded and the entire system is prepared to cope with increased demand.”
More than 800 emergencies
In the first three days of this week, a total of 35,746 hospital emergencies were registered in Andalusia. This means that there are approximately 800 more emergencies than the daily average for the entire year, which is equivalent to a high-frequency period.
That’s a 3.5% decrease compared to the same time last week, with 1,700 fewer emergencies. As for the number of hospitalizations, Andalusia also saw a slight decrease over the past three days, by 1%, from 2,666 to 2,693.
“The proportion of emergency admissions to the total number of emergency admissions is similar to the current normal situation, which indicates that the severity of the diseases treated is similar,” the SAS managing director said.
In terms of emergency care provided in primary care centres, 125,353 emergency care cases were attended to last week, a decrease of 3,084 cases on the previous week. A total of 32 regions are in Phase 0, which is growth below 15% of baseline activity.
Last winter, Andalusian hospitals treated more than 1.1 million emergencies between December and February, of which only 7.6% required hospitalization.
During the season’s high attendance period (from October 15 to the present), 1,242,000 people have been treated by Andalusia Hospital Emergency Services, of which 7.4% required hospitalization. As a result, hospital admissions are “very similar to last year and emergency admissions as a proportion of total emergency department admissions are similar to what is typical for this time of year.”
Vaccination
SAS managing director calls for vaccinations to continue. Anyone at risk who comes to a primary care vaccination site will continue to receive walk-in vaccinations for influenza, Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) until the end of the campaign.
These groups include people with influenza and COVID-19, people over 60 years old, people with chronic diseases, health and social hygiene workers, pregnant women, security forces and legions, cohabitants of high-risk groups, and smokers. Additionally, it is important to remember that children aged 6 to 59 months receive the childhood flu vaccine.
The influenza vaccination rate for people over 65 years old is 65.5%, and the COVID-19 vaccination rate is 47.8%. Influenza vaccination coverage for children aged 6 to 59 months was 45.5%, with a total of 132,032 boys and girls vaccinated.
A total of 1,803,917 people have received the flu vaccine and 1,136,145 people have received the COVID-19 vaccine. The highest vaccination coverage rate is among the elderly population in residential centers, with about 46,000 people, of which 91% are vaccinated against influenza and 85.5% are vaccinated against COVID-19.
More than 49,317 infants have been vaccinated against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the leading cause of bronchiolitis. Nearly 94% of minors designated for vaccination have received the vaccine. As a result of this action against RSV, hospitalizations in Andalusia decreased by 78%.
The Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs has also launched an information campaign through Salud Responde to provide people with advice on how to deal with influenza, influenza A or Covid-19.
Andalusian citizens will therefore be able to learn how to act in the event of a respiratory infection, receiving advice on dealing with the most common symptoms through the telephone number 955 545 060 and the Salud Responde app. Health professionals who are experts in the field have devised a range of general advice for people with a fever over 38 degrees, a cough or a lot of mucus, a headache or a general feeling of discomfort.
It can be accessed through Salud Responde’s IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system. Option 1 is for people over 70 who will be referred to an agent. In Option 2, vaccination is first recommended as the most effective way to avoid getting or spreading the flu or Covid-19, and you can make an appointment with your primary care doctor or nurse (Option 3). Or get general advice for the most common symptoms.
Since the new messaging service was launched, more than 52,576 calls have been registered, with 2,244 requiring help after hearing the announcement.