After several weeks of increase, which have had a noticeable impact on the capacity of the health system, the flu wave in Catalonia “seems to have passed the epidemic peak”, indicates the Information System for the Surveillance of Infections (Sivic), according to last week’s data.
The health authorities are awaiting the evolution of the epidemiological curve of acute respiratory infections to confirm that the worst moment of the season has already passed. “The most common thing is that the curve continues to go down and it is very relevant what happens this week to see if it consolidates”, explains Carmen Cabezas, Secretary of Public Health. Despite the fact that numerous indicators are evolving favorably, such as the decrease in the number of sick leaves signed by doctors, the Department of Health continues to call for vaccination “to avoid complications in case of flu or covid infection”.
Vaccination coverage of vulnerable people against covid is 60% for people older than 80 and 46% for those aged 70 to 79. Against the flu, the rates are higher, at 67% and 54%, respectively. In any case, lower levels than the health authorities expected. Since the campaign began, more than 2.3 million vaccines have been administered at CAPs and population vaccination centers. When the rate of requests dropped, these points were closed, except for one in Lleida, the only one in operation, when on January 10 Health decided to recommend vaccinations to the entire population, not just the vulnerable. This week the northern metropolitan health region has decided to reactivate the population vaccination points that closed in Sabadell, Badalona and Les Franqueses and enable a new one in Mataró.
In the second week of the year (from January 8 to 14), the incidence of all acute respiratory infections fell to a rate of 874 affected per 100,000 inhabitants, with 68,868 diagnosed cases. The flu continues to be the most frequent infection (39.9% of the samples), the only one that is at a high epidemic level, ahead of the rhinovirus (11.9%), the cause of the common cold, SARS-CoV -2 (9.2%) and respiratory syncytial virus (5.9%). In the pediatric population, the influenza virus is also the most circulating (47.9%) and is down compared to the previous week.
Specialists predict a sustained decrease in the pressure on primary care and emergency services. The number of people admitted with covid has clearly dropped, with 625 patients in conventional beds (169 fewer than the previous week) and 26 in the intensive care unit (four fewer). “There is also a decrease in hospital emergency consultations and the proportion of income, within what was expected at this time”, indicates the Civic report.
Last week, 14,647 cases of flu were diagnosed in Catalonia, compared to 15,256 the previous week, which implies a decrease in the rate from 194 to 186 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, the first decrease in eleven weeks. At this time last year, the incidence was much lower, on the verge of bottoming out before beginning a rise of a few weeks to mark a second epidemic peak at the end of February.
Experts are anticipating the possibility of a second wave again this season, an infrequent circumstance.
