One in three intubated Covid patients are aged under 60, says official

One in three coronavirus patients in ICUs is under the age of 60, according to Vana Papaevangelou, a pediatrician and infectious diseases expert on the committee advising the government on Covid-19 policy. 

“No one is invulnerable,” she said on Thursday, noting that in the last 15 days, 80% of the deaths concerned unvaccinated people under the age of 60. 

Citing the most recent data, she said that third doses of the vaccine have yielded results in terms of shielding the population from severe illness. 

The Omicron variant, she said, amounts to 80% of the new cases, while she also noted that the Delta variant is still circulating.

For her part, Alternate Health Minister Mina Gaga said the epidemiological burden remains high although the number of cases has decreased by 35%. She added that there has been a stabilization in the number of intubated patients and hospital admissions. 

However, she stressed that everyone must remain vigilant as most people who die are either unvaccinated or did not receive a booster shot.