The effectiveness of such statistical forecasts is quite limited, but the epidemic curves so far have been predicted relatively accurately by the organization.Continue reading
Data is still unavailable on the percentage of people infected with the coronavirus in Hungary who have been vaccinated. News site Portfolio contacted Gábor Zacher, intensivist at Hatvan Hospital, to ask him about his experiences with this situation. According to Zacher, all doctors are being kept in the dark, no one can see any official data. He also said that according to the observations in the hospital, for every five unvaccinated patients admitted to the ICU, there was one vaccinated patient.
From the EESZT (National eHealth Infrastructure), it would take two minutes to retrieve data on how many of the new patients have been vaccinated and how many have not. It could also give a picture of the effectiveness of vaccines. “I don’t think this would violate any personal data,” Gábor Zacher argued in reaction to the government’s reasoning for not disclosing the data. Zacher added that without the information, he and his colleagues are being kept in the dark. Doctors and medical professionals don’t want to know the names or addresses of patients, but how vaccines work, he stressed.
In the absence of official data, based on the information coming from his colleagues, it currently appears that for every five unvaccinated patients admitted to the ICU, there is only one vaccinated patient. Portfolio notes that according to international studies, there is a 13-14-fold difference in mortality between vaccinated and unvaccinated patients.
“The delta variant has a reproduction rate of 6, compared to 1 for a normal virus. Its incubation period has also decreased considerably compared to previous variants,” said Zacher, explaining his recent observations. There is currently no alternative to vaccination in the fight against the coronavirus, he outlined.
For example, doctors are not aware of anyone being hospitalized after three doses of the vaccine.
“Although there is no protection that works 100% of the time, the likelihood of someone becoming ill after three shots is very, very low,” Gábor Zacher argued in favor of vaccination.
Ophthalmia and conjunctivitis are some of the latest signs of someone infected with the delta variant. Besides the already known symptoms, it is the only new one doctors are aware of.
Zacher also emphasized that he would at the very least reintroduce the mask mandate on public transport, in shops, offices, and other enclosed public spaces to slow the spread of the epidemic. He is not the first one. The measure has been encouraged in recent weeks by several experts and professional organizations, including the Hungarian Medical Chamber (MOK) and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA).
Featured photo by Tamás Vasvári/MTI
