The number of patients hospitalised in Luxembourg has doubled in one month. On Thursday, there 80 coronavirus patients in the country’s hospitals, including 23 in intensive care, compared to a total of 41 on November 9.
In the week from 29 November to 5 December, the Ministry of Health recorded 2,699 positive cases. 1,410 of them were not vaccinated, compared to 1,289 who were fully vaccinated.
While these two numbers are close, the circulation of the virus is more pronounced among the unvaccinated: their incidence rate is twice as high. Not only are they more likely to contract the virus, but they are also more likely to develop symptoms.
The data from hospitals confirms that vaccines grant a significant protection against Covid-19.
During the same period, out of 66 hospitalized patients, 32 were not vaccinated or had not received all of the required doses. This compares to 34 patients who were fully vaccinated.
Beware, however, of misinterpreting these figures: on 5 December, Luxembourg had about twice as many vaccinated people (433,000) as non-vaccinated (201,000). Proportionally, the non-vaccinated are therefore twice as sick as the vaccinated.
At the Centre Hospitalier Émile Mayrisch (CHEM), Dr Romain Schockmel notes that there are more young people among the non-vaccinated patients than among the vaccinated. Conversely, vaccinated people who are hospitalised are indeed older and more vulnerable.
Over a longer period, from October to the end of November, the effect of vaccination becomes much clearer. There were no fully vaccinated patients under the age of 45 in the intensive care unit. But five non-vaccinated people in this age group were admitted with severe symptoms.
Regarding the elderly, the data is balanced. Dr Schockmel notes that the severity of the infection is more pronounced in the elderly because they have a higher likelihood of suffering from pre-existing conditions.
On Thursday, 11 of the 23 people admitted to CHEM’s intensive care unit were between 45 and 81 years old and fully vaccinated. All had pre-existing medical conditions (immunodepression, chemotherapy treatment, transplants, obesity…).
Although it is not 100% effective, vaccination “reduces the severity of the infection”, confirms Dr Philippe Turk, President of the Federation of Luxembourgish Hospitals.
