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The coronavirus does not spare anyone. Germany, which appeared to be a country over-equipped from a health point of view to cope with the pandemic, is today with a peak of 590 deaths in one day. In Italy, even the Regions that seemed to be the most virtuous, like Veneto, are struggling to stop this second wave. And here the dead have almost reached the daily figure of a thousand. Not to mention the countries where denial has prevailed, such as in Trump’s America: here the coronavirus is wreaking havoc and it will not be easy to run for cover. But let’s limit ourselves to Europe, to an Italy-Germany comparison, with an expert who has experience in these two realities., Luciano Gattinoni, luminary in the field of resuscitation, professor emeritus at the University of Milan and now in Göttingen, Germany, where he deals with resuscitation techniques.
Professor Angela Merkel just said that too much is said about mulled wine and too little about staff working in intensive care. What is happening in Germany?
Here we play “advance”. So the chancellor is planning a severe blockade starting from Christmas.
But is the German situation really that worrisome?
The problem is reading the numbers correctly and making comparisons, understanding that the ability of the virus to infect humans is the same everywhere.
The absolute numbers, which are almost six hundred dead in Germany or almost a thousand in Italy in recent days, what sense do they have?
Meanwhile, the figures refer to the general population (60 million in Italy, more than 80 in Germany). This data leaves the time it finds.
Perch?
There are no unique classification criteria. If a patient has a car accident, has a head injury, is hospitalized in the emergency room and dies in the meantime, but is positive for the coronavirus, here he is among the victims of Covid.
So would it be more meaningful to consider the so-called fatality rate?
The case fatality rate assesses the number of deaths among those infected (and detected by swabs). And here Italy would be in third place in the world. Of every 100 Italians infected, more than three people die (3.5%), in Germany slightly more than one (1.5%). We will see why.
Interpreting the numbers is difficult, in any case, it might be better to get sick with Covid in Germany than here. Is the increase in mortality in our country due to the fact that there are more frail elderly and more susceptible to infection?
No. The difference lies in the “structure” of the health system of the two countries and then in the “function”. In Italy, per capita health expenditure of 3,600 euros per year, in Germany 6,600, double. So either the Germans throw away this extra money or it’s for something. Say: build intensive care, where access, in Germany, is the best in Europe.
And the function?
It’s just a fact. In Italy, as in Germany, there are approximately four doctors for every thousand inhabitants. But the difference is made by nurses: 13 in Germany for every thousand inhabitants, only 6 in Italy. But it is the nurses who take care of the patient step by step!
So is the response to the Covid emergency a health organization problem?
S. We, from Italy, have given lessons to the world about intensive medicine treatments, which are the last resort for patients. But now our “armed anti-Covid response” is too fragmented. It is oriented on the colors yellow, orange and red.
December 10, 2020 (change December 10, 2020 | 10:35 am)
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