Climbing incidence rate Covid-19 patients in Bonn hospitals are increasingly younger

Bonn · Because of progress being made in Covid vaccines for the elderly, the patients being admitted to Bonn hospitals are increasingly younger. Statistics point to a trend toward fewer patients dying from coronavirus.

 Georg Baumgarten, head of intensive care medicine at Johanniter Hospital, stands next to a ventilator in the intensive care unit.

Georg Baumgarten, head of intensive care medicine at Johanniter Hospital, stands next to a ventilator in the intensive care unit.

Foto: Benjamin Westhoff

As of Wednesday, the city reported that there have been a total of 208 deaths linked to coronavirus in Bonn. But altogether in Bonn, significantly fewer people have died of Covid-19 in recent weeks than in previous months. As shown in the long-term statistics of the NRW State Center for Health, there have been periods where no Covid-19 deaths were reported: Between March 21 and 28, the number of deaths remained at 207, and between March 14 and 18, the number stayed at 205. The statistics also show seven Covid-19 deaths for the entire month of March, compared with 37 in the shorter month of February.

In view of the steadily rising incidence rates, which provide information on the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within the past seven days, the Bonn health authorities report: "The number of deaths has decreased relative to the number of infections.” The city would not speculate on the reasons for the flattening of the curve. Bonn hospital physicians are also cautious with making analyses. Asked whether fewer people are now dying from Covid-19 because of progress in vaccinating seniors, teachers and educators, Yon-Dschun Ko, chief physician at Johanniter Hospital, replied, "The trend is already recognizable, especially in the United Kingdom." But Randolf Forkert, head of the intensive care unit at the Johanniter Hospital, points out that in the last two waves of the virus, the course of the disease has become more severe.

University hospitals publish anonymous data

Bonn University Hospital is seeing a noticeable trend toward younger patients. Medical Director Wolfgang Holzgreve explained, "The number of the very old in their seventh or eighth decades is significantly smaller. This is presumably due to stricter measures in nursing homes and especially vaccinations, but may also be due to compliance with hygiene rules in homes (for seniors).” Christina Fuhrmann, spokeswoman for Helios Hospital, said doctors there have noticed younger Covid-19 patients since the beginning of the year, with lower mortality rates so far, presumably due to the vaccinations. Bonn-based Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus (Community Hospital) also said the figures for Germany "indicate lower mortality compared with the previous year," said spokeswoman Katharina Müller-Stromberg.

On Wednesday, the Bonn University Hospital called attention to a collection of data that it is publishing anonymously together with eight other university hospitals in Germany. It is part of a collaborative project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Under coronadashboard.ukbonn.de, statistics including the infection rate, hospital occupancy and ICU unit occupancy are published. In this way, "acute developments in clinical care can be tracked promptly and in detail" for everyone. Stakeholders hope this will accelerate Covid-19 research. The number of deaths can also be found on the "Corona Dashboard." Here, too, there is a discernible trend toward fewer patients dying from coronavirus. While the nine university hospitals reported 116 deaths in January, it was 68 in February and in March it fell to 44.

(Orig. text: Philipp Königs / Translation: ck)

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