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Regions of Sweden are now beginning to approach the end of vaccination phase 1, in which the highest priority is vaccination against covid-19.
At the same time that mass vaccination is being carried out, the spread of infection among the most fragile is decreasing. In special homes, 34 cases of covid-19 were confirmed last week. This means a reduction of almost 95 percent in seven weeks.
The decline is an effect of vaccination, says Iréne Nilsson Carlsson, a public health adviser for the National Board of Health and Welfare.
– I think you dare to say it now. In statistics, we see that the infection among people with special housing has decreased much more than among others. If you look at those over 70, the infection is cut in half. And for those with homecare, where it’s running but hasn’t gotten as far as Säbo, the decline is somewhere in between the two groups. So there is a pattern, it tells DN.
Last week’s figure is the lowest since late September. During last spring’s peak of infection, weeks 15 and 16, nearly 700 cases were confirmed per week in nursing homes. This fall, week 50, more than 950 residents tested positive.
Wednesday it exceeded Sweden received one million doses of vaccine. Just under 700,000 have received at least one dose, corresponding to 8.4 percent of Sweden’s adult population. Just over 300,000 have received two doses and are therefore fully vaccinated.
The spread of infection among Swedes in general continues to increase, albeit at a slower rate than at the beginning of the year. But growing vaccination coverage may affect the burden of healthcare, according to Iréne Nilsson Carlsson.
Approximately half of the people with COVID-19 who have been treated in the hospital in the last six months are over 70 years old and 25 percent receive home care or live in special housing.
– The assessment is that little by little it will mean some relief for the attention. So we all need to keep distancing ourselves and be careful. Almost half of all the people who have been cared for in hospital care are under the age of 70, so the health service is not over and we still expect a heavy burden, says Iréne Nilsson Carlsson.
For municipal care, which in recent weeks has been working to vaccinate the elderly, slowing the spread of the infection may also bring some relief.
– It has been hard for a long time for the nurses in the municipality because vaccination has meant an extra workload. They have also worked diligently to track infections, which requires a lot of work, says Iréne Nilsson Carlsson and continues:
– Not everyone in the home care service is vaccinated and there are new people in business who are not vaccinated so it is not over yet. Municipalities have yet to keep up a good job of infection control.
