Nearly one in two patients with COVID-19 start to be hospitalised in Tatarstan
The share of hospitalised people has increased too, but the number of severe cases is the same
According to the official coronavirus statistics in Tatarstan, the share of people hospitalised with COVID-19 in the republic in 2021 has increased. If approximately one in five patients were hospitalised by late 2020 when 100 coronavirus cases were detected daily, now less than 50 people are diagnosed a day, the number of hospitalised patients remains at the same level, while the share of the total number surpasses 50% at times. So 31 in 50 people were hospitalised on 12 March, 24 in 48 people were taken to hospital on 20 March.
Vice Health Care Minister of Tatarstan and head of Kazan’s Health Care Administration Vladimir Zhavoronkov explained the situation on 26 March answering Realnoe Vremya’s question. According to him, the growth of the number of hospitalised patients doesn’t say that the number of severe cases of the disease is growing. Rather, the health care system, which is gradually getting rid of the burden, has had more opportunities to refer patients who have slight suspicions of getting worse to hospital.
“We see a patient’s state and decide to hospitalise him depending on the patient’s state. If we understand that the state of the patient permits leaving him at home, he stays home. But there are such indicators as the current epidemiological situation and the load of the health care system. We have already said many times there are enough beds to hospitalise everybody who has the smallest suspicion and so on. This is why here are not talking about more severe cases of the disease,” Zhavoronkov explained.
In reply to a question about a patient who had coronavirus and committed suicide, Zhavoronkov added: now all health establishments of the republic “have received quite strict instructions so that the patients who had COVID-19 will be dynamically observed”, especially those who had a severe case. A special register allows monitoring people who recovered from the virus.
How Tatarstan mufti receives EpiVacCorona
The second vaccine, EpiVacCorona by the Vector Centre is expected in Tatarstan soon. But it is still a mystery when and how many vaccines will arrive. Zhavoronkov said that the amount of the batch is already known, but it will be made public only after the vaccine gets to warehouses in the republic. He also reminded the audience again that from a perspective of the patient there is no difference between the vaccines — both are reliable and safe.
However, it became known on 25 March that some patients already had a chance of receiving the EpiVacCorona, not within clinical trials. And and it was Tatarstan Mufti Hazrat Kamil Samigullin. Religious clerics of the Tatarstan Muslim Religious Directorate as well as the Kazan Eparchy were vaccinated on camera.
“I asked for the EpiVacCorona, I deliberately asked for the EpiVac because it is synthetic. We had examined and decided it suits me best,” Samigullin told journalists.
Zhavoronkov explained that a vaccine for the mufti was found in the stock that remained after clinical trials of the EpiVacCorona in Tatarstan, which took place in November 2020.
“What is a stock? Somebody didn’t show up, something went wrong... There was some stock, and it was used. There were several doses of the vaccine, indeed,” Zhavoronkov explained and thanked the Tatarstan religious clerics for showing an example to the population and receiving the vaccine.
Meanwhile, Tatarstan has already received a total of over 144,000 Sputnik V vaccines, Zhavoronkov added. More than 122,000 people have received the vaccine, more than 75,000 of them have had both doses.