Economy 8 February 2022, 9:29am

What is happening in Hungarian hospitals at the peak of the Omicron wave? Gábor Zacher tells us

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The number of patients hospitalised with coronavirus is on the rise, and statistics show that the number of Covid fatalities has also risen in recent days. According to Gábor Zacher, head physician at the Hatvan hospital, the Omicron variant puts almost only the unvaccinated, as well as elderly, chronic patients into intensive care units. People aged between 40 and 50 are more likely to survive Omicron. He said that there are also people who are hospitalised for other illnesses, but who turn out to have coronavirus, which means that their condition which justifies hospitalisation is not due to the virus. Not everyone who visits the emergency room because of a coronavirus should be admitted.

There is peace. There are hardly any patients in severe condition in the COVID wards. Those we treat in the intensive care unit are unvaccinated patients in 99% of cases,

, Gábor Zacher described the situation of hospitals and the patients treated there. According to a doctor at the emergency department of the hospital in Hatvan, the National Public Health Centre's statement that "the majority of the deceased are elderly, chronic patients" is true again.

Only very few people in their 40s and 50s are victims of the coronavirus. Nevertheless, Gábor Zacher says the disease is still not a game, because the course of the disease is "unpredictable".

"Many patients visit the emergency rooms, but most of them are discharged home because, although they are COVID-19 positive, they do not have serious symptoms such as pneumonia. Most have muscle and joint pain, some fever, sore throat or runny nose. Occasionally, there is inflammation of the eyes or gastrointestinal symptoms, i.e. diarrhoea. Most of them are recovering at home, in quarantine for a week," said Gábor Zacher, outlining the current situation. Having consultated with his colleagues he knows that it is mostly the unvaccinated patients who are now in intensive care units and on ventilators. He stressed:

Patients that develop serious symptoms due to coronavirus are those that have other underlying, serious health issues.

"People who have had previous surgery for a femoral neck fracture, for example, but have tested positive, or who have had a stroke previously and have coronavirus just an incidental symptom, well, they're mainly the ones who are already in hospital Covid wards. And, of course, some of the people who are not vaccinated sometimes end up with a serious condition. The majority of those who are vaccinated will be sick with symptoms that can be managed at home," said Zacher.

Most patients with omicron are advised to take antipyretics, along with some vitamin D and zinc. In addition, of course, plenty of fluids and rest at home.

Occasionally a few people need antibody therapy, but there are not many of those patients. It is also likely that there are an increasing number of cases where someone gets through Omicron with very mild cold symptoms or even without any symptom.

Zacher said the workload in the hospital wards was not serious. He stressed:

The main problem now is that more and more health workers are falling ill because of the rapidly spreading Omicron.

Although doctors and nurses are at home typically with not serious symptoms, even a week of abscence for several workers at once can make it very difficult to cover hospital posts, he said. He added that this meant extra work, often extra on-call duties and extra shifts for healthy colleagues.

Gov't decree trumps court ruling

Independent media outlets have been banned from hospitals / Covid wards throughout the pandemic in Hungary. After a long legal battle, on 27 January this year, the Metropolitan Court of Budapest ruled in favour of independent news site Telex, establishing that the Ministry of Human Resources (EMMI) should not have decided on the ban, as only individual hospital directors have the authority in that matter.

In Germany, Austria, or basically anywhere in Western Europe that would have been the end of the story. Not in Hungary, though.

In the aftermath, even Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's chief of staff commented on the decision at his regular press briefing on Thursday, saying that “court decisions must be respected.”

Apparently, the government had second thoughts about the ruling and issued a decree last Friday night, ordering the Operative Board (consisting of officials either appointed by the government or belonging to the government) to be in charge, citing the special legal order in place as the grounds for this decision. The board, therefore, may determine both the healthcare institutions’ programme for maintaining contact with the press, and the press’s access to the institutions.

Accordingly, hospital chiefs will have no choice but to implement the board’s relevant decisions, which are highly unlikely to be any different than under the ministry ban.

Cover photo: MTI Photo : Noémi Bruzák